Sequentia Cor Meum
by AWiltedRoseSighs
Summary: Sequel to Deseo. Severus and Hermione are learning to juggle their marriage and their jobs. Hermione is contacted from people that she never imagined that she would hear from. Someone they thought was dead is back, and that person is searching for vengeance. Is the group prepared? How will the Weasley's react to Ron's better half? H/S, G/H, R/D. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Prologue

**Italic text in the ceremony is from a Marriage Contract written by Margaret A. Keip, which was directly quoted where I got this ceremony from. (A Link is provided on my profile if you'd like to see the ceremony without the extras/ tweaks) I don't own Harry Potter, or (obviously the location of Wiltshire). I hope that you lovely readers are as excited for this sequel as I am. I will post the first chapter tomorrow. The original wedding ceremony was about 270 words, and I had borrowed it to use for Up Close, and I thought that you guys deserved a new one.**

 **WORD COUNT WITHOUT HEADERS/FOOTERS : 773**

 **Sequentia Cor Meum**

 **(Continuation of My Heart)**

 **Prologue**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Hermione Jean Granger, and Severus Tobias Snape. Marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, who trust that love, who honor one another as individuals in that togetherness, and who wish to spend the rest of their lives together. It enables the two separate souls to share their desires, longings, dreams, and memories, their joys, and sorrows, and to help each other through all uncertainties of life." The crowd around them was quiet, awed by the beauty of the wedding between the dungeon bat, and the brightest witch of her age.

" _Marriage has certain qualities of contract, in which two people take on the housekeeping tasks of living together, to enhance life's joy._ " He paused, looking between the bride and groom. " _However, marriage is much more than a contract. Marriage is commitment to take that joy deep, deeper than happiness, deep into the discovery of who you most truly are. It is a commitment to a spiritual journey, to a life of becoming- in which joy can comprehend despair, running through rivers of pain, into joy again_."

" _And thus marriage is even deeper than commitment. It is a covenant – a covenant that says: I love you. I trust you. I will be there for you when you are hurting, and when I am hurting, I will not leave._ " He looked around at the people seated along the way. " _It is a covenant intended not to provide haven from pain or from anger and sorrow. Life offers no such haven. Instead, marriage is intended to provide a sanctuary safe enough to risk loving, to risk living and sharing from the center of oneself. This is worth everything_."

The officiate turned to Hermione. "Hermione, will you take Severus to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and protect him and forsaking all others to be faithful to him until death do you part?

"I do." She replied, no hesitation at all, as she smiled brightly up at Severus.

"Then repeat after me, I Hermione, take you Severus,"

"I Hermione, take you Severus,"

"To be my lawfully wedded husband,"

"To be my lawfully wedded husband,"

"And my better. I will take care,"

"And my better. I will take care,"

"and cherish our relationship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever."

"and cherish our relationship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever."

"I will always be open, honest, and faithful to you,"

"I will always be open, honest, and faithful to you,"

"I take you for my husband, to have and to hold,"

"I take you for my husband, to have and to hold,"

"from this day on, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,"

"from this day on, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,

"In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for all the days of my life and until my last breath."

"In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for all the days of my life and until my last breath." Hermione finished her part for the moment, and gave Severus a watery smile.

The Officiate took Severus through his part of the ceremony, before getting to the exchange of rings. "Repeat after me, this ring, which has no beginning and no end,"

"This ring, which has no beginning and no end,"

"Symbolizes the love and trust between us that will never cease."

"Symbolizes the love and trust between us that will never cease."

"May its presence on your hand remind you of my love, and my vow."

"May is presence on your hand remind you of my love, and my vow."

"I now place it on your finger, as a visible sign of the promises,"

"I now place it on your finger, as a visible sign of the promises,"

"Which have made us husband and wife."

"Which have made us husband and wife."

Severus took the ring from Lucius, and slid the ring onto her finger, as a tear slid from her eye. She took his ring from Ginny after she went through the script for the exchange, before sliding his ring onto his finger as well. "Until now Hermione Jean, and Severus Tobias have spent each moment of their lives as separate individuals. But from this day on, and each day after their every moment shall be shared and spent as one. By the power enthroned in me by the Ministry of Magic, and the County of Wiltshire, I now pronounce you husband and wife." He turned to Severus. "You may now kiss your bride."


	2. Chapter One

_**I can't tell you how happy I am to be writing a sequel for Deseo… how happy I am that I have been able to complete Deseo, and even start thinking about writing a sequel. I know that I made some, and by that I mean a lot of, mistakes in Deseo. And I am working on going back to fix them. I didn't want to start uploading Sequentia Cor Meum (Sequel of My Heart) until it was finished. Then after I started writing, I figured that I could start uploading as soon as I knew who would be the big antagonist. Obviously as this is chapter One, I will not be giving you hints, that may make you unlikely to continue reading.. I'm iffy on spoilers myself, but whatevs. Anyways, because I seem to have gotten a bit off topic.. I'm going to put the warnings up. Pairings will be updated as the story goes along. Obviously I'll put Ron's significant others name in place of the "it's a secret for now" once I reveal who it is (for those who didn't vote in the Poll).**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder. Can't even begin to describe how thrilled I am that he agreed to Beta the sequel.**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/(it's a secret for now), Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's:**_ _ **Meissa Black, Healer Kaylee, Darren Parkinson**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count W/Header: 1,288**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 2,061**_

 **Sequentia Cor Meum**

 _"Meissa, why would you—"_

 _"You're married, Rodolphus. You shouldn't know that I exist, and you wouldn't know if you hadn't seen my name on that stupid tapestry."_

 _"Issa, I love you."_

 _"You're married to my sister!"_

 _"Issa..." Rodolphus sighed, his thumb caressing away the tear that lingered on her cheek. "The marriage contract I have with your sister was supposed to be between you and I. But when you were discovered to be a squib, my father switched it so that the lines would remain pure. You were too young to know this."_

 _"You're not that much older than me."_

 _"I'm three years older than you. Right before you were sent away, you were two years old, and they obliviated you, but right before you were sent away. But you looked up, and smiled at me… you were two years old, and you told me that you loved me." His eyes shined bright. "And then they took you away from me, and I was instead betrothed to your screaming sister with her bush of black hair."_

 _"I have no magic to protect myself with, Rodolphus. I can't be with you. When Bellatrix finds out...she will kill me."_

 **Chapter One**

Hermione stood atop the balcony, giving a sigh as she gazed down at the deep blue hue of the water that surrounded the island of Crete, the largest of the Greek Islands. She sensed Severus coming up behind her, remaining still as his arms came around her waist and his chin rested on her shoulder.

"I don't want to return." She smiled, giving another small sigh as she turned in his arms and leaned back to look at him. "This has been the best honeymoon that anybody could ask for."

"I overheard you once, telling Potter that you'd never been," said Severus. "And after the chaos of the last several months, I felt that we'd earned a little peace and quiet, no?"

She hummed humorously in agreement, grinning slightly. "You're such a sweetheart—Not that I'd ever tell anybody that," she quickly added upon seeing his answering scowl."

"You better not. I have a reputation to uphold." He pulled her tightly against him, the fabric of her summer dress twisting in his fists. His head came forward so that he could run his nose up her neck and cheek, inhaling softly until his lips were at her ear. "I can't very well be the scary potions master if everybody catches me smiling all the damn time."

"But I want you to smile. I want everyone to see that I make you happy." She sighed. "I need to know that I make you happy."

"Hermione Jean Snape, you are the most wonderful woman that I've ever met. I would not have married you if you did not make me happy."

"I love you," she replied. "I'm so glad that you chose me."

"Always."

* * *

The conversation in the classroom had been light, before hushing into silence as Hermione entered, having thrust open the doors suddenly, causing the hinges to creak as she made her way down the aisle, her robes bellowing out behind her.

Reaching the front of the class, she spun around, hands on her hips as she took a moment to survey her students.

"Welcome to your first day at Hogwarts. I want to wish each and every one of you good luck! Not just in this class, but in all of them." She waved her wand at the blackboard on the wall. "That being said, Defense Against the Dark Arts is a requirement for a reason. You have to take seven years of it, because the ministry knows that each and every one of you will need to know how to defend yourselves and your loved ones."

"But isn't the evil gone?" asked one of the Gryffindors. "Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who."

"Yes, but before him was Gellert Grindelwald. Then before him there was Jakal Lynch, Harold Meyers." Seeing that they were starting to get bored, she moved on. "The point is that, Yes, Voldemort is gone. But who knows how long it will be before the next person comes along and decides that they want to try and take over the world. I'm not trying to frighten you," she said holding her hands up in apology. "I sincerely hope that we don't have to deal with another Voldemort anytime soon. But just in case we do, we need to be prepared. Now, just as first years the spells that you will be learning will be fairly mild."

"When are we going to get to do practical work?"

"Well," Hermione held up her watch, "in about five minutes. First we will go over the incantation. And then I will demonstrate. Then you will all practice."

A snort from the back drew her attention to a Slytherin boy.

"I'm surprised you don't want us to read the book first." He sneered at her. "Hermione Granger is famous for being a bookworm."

"That I am," she replied, smiling at him. "And I had already assumed that you would have read through a bit of the material before coming to class.

She smiled at him. "The spell we are learning today is the Curse of the Bogies, its incantation is _Mucus ad Nauseum_." She waved her wand at the board and an illustration of the wand movement popped up. "Now before you perform the spell," she turned to the Slytherin, "my name is Hermione Snape, I am your professor, and that will be a point away from Slytherin for your disrespectful comment."

* * *

"What flowers do you want for the wedding?" asked Ginny, looking up at him over her lunch.

"Whichever ones you and your mother think are best," Harry replied as he read through the application for the Auror Program. "You know I'm not good at that sort of stuff."

"You told me how you had to do the gardening at your aunt's. You'd probably know better than we would."

"Gin, I don't care what flowers we have. And I don't mind what color you chose for the bridesmaid dresses. The only thing I care about is that I will be able to go home at night and hold you, without having to worry about your brothers walking in."

* * *

"How were your classes?"

Hermione hummed nonchalantly at Severus' question as she took a bite of her lunch. "On the whole? Rather okay; though I did deduct several points from Slytherin."

They had opted to dine in their quarters than in the hall, electing to share a quiet meal together after her first day teaching alone.

"Do tell," said Severus, having raised a brow at the comment.

"Darren Parkinson."

The name earned her a scoff.

"That boy is as annoying as his sister," hissed Severus as he used his fork to spear through his piece of chicken. "The Parkinson children have given me no small amount of problems over the years; they were raised as if they were royalty, and have always demanded to be treaty as such." He frowned at her as he chewed. "What did the brat do?"

"He called Hermione Granger a bookworm," she said. "Was rather surprised that I hadn't assigned any bookwork and had them get right to the practicals. As for the demanding-to-be-treated-like-royalty attitude: he has another thing coming if he expects me to treat him any differently than any other student."

Severus sighed. "You will have problems from a lot of the Slytherins due to the fact that you're married to their head of house. They want to test your boundaries, and will see how much you will tell me, by how much I punish them in class."

"Sev, I love you."

"And I you."

 _ **Just in case you're wondering, they got married in the winter, and honeymooned over summer.**_


	3. Chapter Two

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **gs:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/(it's a secret for now), Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's:**_ _ **Meissa Black, Healer Kaylee, Darren Parkinson, Chantel Palmer**_

 _ **Word Count W/Header: 1,473**_

 _ **Story word count: 3,534**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

Rodolphus made his way forlornly down the sidewalk, hands shoved deep into his pockets, lost in his memories.

When he had sneaked away from Bellatrix to Meissa, they had always spent time in the muggle world. He couldn't remember where she had lived. He cursed Azkaban.

He had known that Bellatrix had held no love for him when they had married. He hadn't had a problem with it as he hadn't loved her. Her obsession with Voldemort had left much of her focus off of him; something he was grateful for. He had been in love with her sister, Meissa, who Bellatrix had never known about as Meissa had been disowned for being a squib when she was a toddler.

During the mess of the final battle, Rodolphus had turned his back on the Death Eaters. He turned his back on the Wizarding world, just as he had in the first war. But when his brother had been injured, Rodolphus had gone back to protect him. Once again allowing himself to be swept into the madness that was the dark side.

He had not seen Meissa since mid-December of '78, and he regretted leaving her the moment he had done so. Every day, he wished he had kept in contact with her. But he hadn't wanted Bellatrix to find out.

Now it was nearly three years after the fall of Voldemort, and he hadn't seen Meissa in just over two decades. He wondered if she would remember him, if they two were ever fortunate enough to see each other again.

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

"Welcome back," Hermione said as the first years settled in, her eyes lingering on the young Mr. Parkinson. "Today, we'll begin by learning about hags, and then at the end of the lesson, we'll go back over 'Mucus ad nauseum' just to make sure that you've all really got it down." She smiled at the group. "Now, open your books to page 27." She gave them a moment to open to the page. "Who can tell me what a hag is?"

A Ravenclaw by the name of Chantel Palmer raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Palmer?"

"A hag is a child-eating creature of human appearance, though likely to have more warts than the average witch," answered the young witch.

"Two points to Ravenclaw. Now who can tell me what the book says the average hag eats?" Hermione asked as she waved her wand at the board, causing chalk to appear and list Palmer's answer.

Another hand came up from the back row.

"Mr. Parkinson."

"Children and raw liver?"

Smiling appreciatively, Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me or answering me, Mr. Parkinson?"

"I'm answering you."

"Two points to Slytherin." Another wave of her wand and more text appeared on the board.

 **A hag is a savage being. They possess rudimentary magic similar to that of a troll. Little is known of them, though it is thought that they are what Muggles think are witches and are therefore popular in Muggle Literature.**

 **Known diet: Children and raw liver.**

"The hag is a creature from English folklore. Originally used as a way to explain the then-unknown condition of sleep paralysis, the 'Old Hag' was a spirit that sat on a person's chest while they slept and gave them nightmares. The term later evolved to used for any malevolent and ugly old woman."

* * *

Since the end of the school year, Ron hadn't done much in his personal life. Choosing instead to occupy his time working long hours at WWW in an effort keep his mind off of Lavender's betrayal.

Whenever he thought about her, Ron didn't know whether he wanted to either laugh or cry at his own stupidity. Perhaps a bit of both.

He had honestly thought that she had changed; become different—more mature—from the frivolous girl that she had been before the war.

No Lavender... and no Hermione.

The female-third of the Golden Trio was happy with someone else, Snape of all people. And though his friendship with Harry was still going strong, he knew that after he got married—to his little sister no less—that they would eventually drift apart.

… It just wouldn't be the same.

Ron shook his head before taking a swig from his nearly-empty bottle, the remaining fire whiskey sloshing loudly within it as he stumbled down Diagon Alley towards WWW.

The twins had moved out almost a month ago, having bought themselves a new three-story home, which came with five bedrooms and bathrooms, a large kitchen, dining area, living room, hall and basement, the last of which they would use for production. By Weasley standards it was very much extravagant, considering that only the two of them would be living there, but it wasn't as if they couldn't afford it. Ron was actually surprised that they hadn't bought some place bigger. And it wasn't as if he could complain since they'd allowed for him to stay in their old apartment rent-free.

"Weasley?"

Ron was brought out of his thoughts by the sound approaching footsteps, tripping over his feet—but thankfully not falling—as he turned around to see who it was.

"… Luna? That you?" he asked groggily as he steadied himself and squinted his eyes at the figure. "Why'd you cut your hair so short?"

He was too slow to stop them from grabbing the bottle from his hand, and could only blink in surprise as it disappeared with a pop.

"You've been drinking too much, Weasley."

"But Luna..." He pouted, jerking a finger towards the sky. "I want to frink!" he shouted, only to loose his footing and stumble slightly.

There was a loud sigh, and then suddenly hands came around his waist, steadying him. "I'm not Luna Lovegood, you bloody ponce," said the not-Luna person as they half-carried, half-dragged him down the alley.

"Who're you to call me a ponce? You bloody poofter."

Not-Luna snorted, and Ron felt himself being sucked through a tube and the uneven stone cobbles of Diagon Alley were suddenly replaced with leveled, wooden flooring. He could immediately sense that they were indoors, and not a moment lately recognized the staircase of WWW. The one leading up with the twins' apartment. He sighed.

"You act like it's a crime to be home," said not-Luna as they padded up the stairs, having noted his mood.

"I just don't want to be alone," he mumbled without thinking. "Hermione's married now, and once Harry marries Ginny, he won't have as much time to hang out with me... and then I'll be truly alone."

"I doubt Harry would do that to you. You guys are best mates," said the other as they reached the landing and made their way around to door of the apartment.

Ron waved his wand to open the wards. "Bedroom's down the hall," he murmured, still leaning heavily against his companion.

Strong arms practically carried him down the hallway, and led him into his room. He vaguely heard the murmur of a spell before, suddenly, the feel of the denim and linen of his jeans and shirt were replaced by the soft cotton of his pajamas. He was then walked over to the bed where he unceremoniously plopped, his limbs shifted until he lay comfortably before the covers were pulled up over him.

Even in his drunkenness, Ron still managed to reach out and clasp the other by the wrist before they could withdraw. "Please," he began pitifully. "Please don't leave me alone."

A beat of silence.

"You don't want me to stay, Weasley."

Ron opened his eyes and looked into the stormy-grey hovering above him. "Yes I do."

Head shaking, the person motioned for him to scoot over, and then lay behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist. "You will regret this in the morning."

Ron, already beginning to snore, muttered one word in return. "Never."

* * *

Severus sat on the couch holding a book in one hand, and caressing Hermione's hair with the other. Hermione was spread out on the couch with her head in his lap. "What's got you so cheerful?" Severus asked her, because she had a brilliant smile on her face.

"I'm happy because I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm happy because we can be comfortable like this, just being together. I'm happy because, for the first time in forever, I feel like everything is going to be okay."

"I love you," he murmured, turning down the corner of the page, and closing his book.

"As I love you," she replied, before sitting up beside him.

He reached his hand out and pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear, caressing her face in the process. He then gripped a handful of hair in his fist, pulling her face to his, and clashing their lips together.


	4. Chapter Three

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters, places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/(it's a secret for now), Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's:**_ _ **Meissa Black, Healer Kaylee, Darren Parkinson, Chantel Palmer**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,012**_

 _ **Story Count: 5,546**_

 **Chapter Three**

Ron was warmer than he had felt in a long time. He knew he had been asleep for a while because his hangover was virtually nonexistent. He gave a satisfied moan, followed closely by a yawn, then raised his his arms above his head to do a stretch—

Only to freeze when he, unmistakably, felt arms tighten around his waist.

Eyelids flew open in shock as he raised himself up on his elbows and turned his head to stare at the usually-empty space of the bed which, at that moment, was not-so-empty. He found himself staring, dazed, at a pair stormy-gray eyes belonging to the bed's other occupant.

"Dra... Malfoy!?"

"G'morning," replied the blond as he released him, leaned his head back and yawned. "What time is it?"

"Umm...," Thrown off by the casual question, Ron jerked his head around and looked at the tiny clock on his bedside table. "Half-past nine," he mumbled before he flopped back down and stared up at the ceiling. "Why are you in my bed, Malfoy?"

Malfoy sighed as he sat up and Ron watched him calmly as he ran hand through his hair.

"I found you stumbling around Diagon last night, like an idiot."

Ron winced.

"So I brought you home, and put you to bed. I was going to leave you, but you asked me to stay. So I did." Malfoy shrugged his shoulders. When Ron did nothing but stare, the blond gave another sigh as he shifted himself off the bed and bent down to don his shoes.

"I told you that you'd regret it, Weasley," said Malfoy as he stood and made for the door. "But don't worry, I'll leave before you call the Aurors."

The image of him at the door kick-started something in Ron's mind and, finally realizing that the other was about to leave, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Would you like to stay for breakfast?"

* * *

 _A Week Later_

"So, how are classes?" Harry asked after the three of them had situated themselves in one of the corner booths inside The Three Broomsticks.

"Going pretty well, actually... Though, Pansy's little brother did initially give me a bit of a bad attitude." She shrugged her shoulders as she took a sip of her butterbeer. "Other than that, the students behave. What about you, Ron? How's business?" she asked. The smile he gave her didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Great," answered Ron lightly. "Fred and George have already started plans on expanding. They've actually been looking for a place here in the village for the new store; It's been keeping them really busy."

"Yeah. Ginny and I were over at the Burrow the other day for a visit," said Harry, nodding, "and she mentioned how odd it was without the three of you around; the house being so quiet."

Hermione noticed Ron frown at that. He was probably making a note to visit the Burrow, she guessed. She'd learned from Arthur that he hadn't been by in almost a fortnight.

"I have to ask something," said Ron after several seconds and they waited as he cast a quick silencing charm around their booth.

It wasn't really needed, since the pub was already so noisy, but it was obvious from his expression that whatever it was he going to say was sensitive. When neither she nor Harry said anything, he pushed forward.

"I wouldn't normally say anything, but it was suggested that I talk to you two about it."

Harry smiled at him quizzically. "You know you can talk to us about anything."

"I'm worried that when you and Ginny get married you guys won't have time for me," blurted Ron, and then to her, "I'm worried that you won't have time for me either, 'Mione; what with you being married to Snape, and looking to start a family."

Hermione gave him a sad smile. "We'll always have time for you, Ron."

"Absolutely," said Harry. "I'll see you all the time at the Burrow. And I'll come and get you from the shop so that we can have lunch together."

"And you're both perfectly welcome to come to Hogwarts and get me for lunch," Hermione added.

Ron brightened a little and smiled sheepishly. "I know it's silly of me to worry about this—"

"It's not silly at all, Ron," she said. "It's completely normal for adults to worry about this when they get out of school. We're all really beginning our lives now. It'll be hard for all of us to make time at first to meet. Harry's going through Auror training, I'm a new professor, and I know that you don't plan on working at the shop forever. I'm surprised that you aren't going through Auror training as well."

"I actually applied at a couple of places a couple days ago, but George knows that I'm happy to stay on and help him."

She and Harry nodded at that, and she was about to say something, but Ron wasn't finished.

"I also started dating somebody."

This took her and Harry by surprise, but only for a moment, before they both congratulated him. She tried to get him to reveal who it was that he was dating, but Ron kept a surprising (and adorably) tight lid on it. All they could garner from him, though he didn't say it outright, was that he was seeing a male.

While Harry continued to chuckle at Ron's blush, she cast a nervous glance around the pub. "Ron, is that privacy charm still up?" she asked and returned her gaze to him.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's up. Why?"

She nervously brushed her hair behind her ear, and then tangled her hands together in her lap. "I've got a bit of a confession of my own to make," she said, and looked down. "I... haven't said anything to Severus yet; I wanted you two to be the first to know."

"Well it must be huge, to make you this nervous," said Harry. He reached over and held her hand in a show of support, Ron doing the same to her other. "Tell us."

"I found out this morning. Well... I'm pregnant." Her voice grew thick and she shook her head so that her hair fell over her face. "I know I should have told Sev first, but sometimes it's almost weird to not have to keep everything between just the three of us. It's not like before; I'm not afraid of him. Just—growing up knowing that my parents didn't want me—I just—"

"Hermione, you're our sister, we love you," began Ron, looking at Harry to continue.

"Which is why we can tell you that your fears are irrational. You and Severus will love this child. And we will love our little niece or nephew, as will all of your Weasley family." He glanced around them. "I will do everything that I can to make sure that your child grows up happier than any three of us. I trust Severus, and I know that you two will make it, but if some dunderhead come in and tries to mess things up, we will protect you."

* * *

After Hermione had left to meet up with Harry and Ron, Severus had sat himself in one of the armchairs next to the fireplace and proceeded to read. He had been about to start a new chapter when the flames in the fireplace turned green, and Draco stepped out of the flames.

"Severus," acknowledged his godson as he brushed soot off of his robes.

"Draco!"

Severus set his book off to the side and stood up to hug him. He felt Draco hesitate for a moment before the smaller male he reached up to return the gesture. It was minutes later, when they were both seated on the couch sipping tea, that Draco commented on it.

"That was unexpected."

Severus blinked at him. "What was?"

"The hug," clarified the blond.

"Oh." He thought back and nodded. "It's Hermione. I've gotten into the habit of hugging her everytime she returns. I apologize if it made you uncomfortable."

"Not at all, you know that you are like an uncle to me, Severus. I have something to tell you, and I hope that it will not change how you think of me."

Though Draco kept eye contact with him, Severus saw his hands shaking slightly.

"You will always be my godson, and as such, I will always love you, no matter what shenanigan—"

"I'm in love with Ronald Weasley," blurted Draco. A blush marred his cheeks and Severus could only gap in surprise at his confession. He continued on with how he'd been in love with the Gryffindor since their third year, and that, after finally coming across the inebriated (Severus snorted at that) Weasley in Diagon Alley a week ago, had ended up accompanying the redhead home for the night.

"Nothing happened, though. We didn't actually sleep together," said Draco hastily. "But, when we woke up, he invited me to stay for breakfast—I had no idea that he was such an amazing cook, Severus!—and when I was on my way out he even asked me out to dinner."

With the speed at which the blond talked, Severus doubted that he had even noticed that the door had opened.

"We've gone out five times since, and I just needed to tell you, because you're the closest thing I have to a father, besides mine," Draco was saying. "And I don't think that he would be very understanding considering that I have no desire to marry a woman and continue the Malfoy line. Please tell me that you don't think any less—"

There was a loud squeal from the doorway and his godson suddenly found himself wrapped in a tight hug by a mass of brown curly hair. Hermione smiled brilliantly at him as she leaned away.

"You're the person Ron's stared dating aren't you? He wouldn't tell me and Harry who you were, or that you were male for that matter, but for some reason, I sensed it was a man." She suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. "You best treat him well, Draco."

"I have no intention of ever harming him again," replied Draco. "I'm so so—"

But Hermione was smiling warmly again. "Draco, if you apologize again, I'm going to beat you senseless." She grabbed him on his upper arms and took a step back, so that she wasn't practically pressing against him anymore. "I trust you," a menacing look crossed her face as soon as she said that, "however, if you hurt him, make no mistake, I will hurt you."

Despite the hostile tone to her words, Draco smiled calmly. "I'm glad that he has friends like you two." Seeming to remembering his reason for being there, he turned back Severus. "Please say you don't hate me."

"Draco, I would never have believed that you would," Severus lightened his tone when he saw him cringe (though that may have been due to the glare Hermione sent him), "honestly think that I would hate you for being brave enough to tell me who you are."

Draco sighed in relief as he hugged him. "How do you think that father will take it?"

Severus scoffed. "If your father has any sense, he'll continue to love you, regardless; if he doesn't, your mother will probably hex him until he does."

Hermione was standing by her side of the bed when Severus exited the bathroom. Upon seeing the look on her face, he walked around and raised a hand to push a tendril of hair behind her ear. "What's wrong, love?"

"Nothing's wrong. At least, I hope not. I hope it's very good news. It is to me, and—"

"Breathe," he murmured, interrupting the beginnings of a rambling babble that she got into whenever she got nervous.

Her hands and eyes dropped to her stomach, and when she looked back up at him she saw that his eyes had followed hers. "Sev... I'm pregnant."


	5. Chapter Four

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's:**_ _ **Meissa Black, Healer Kaylee, Darren Parkinson, Chantel Palmer**_

 _ **~Enjoy. Some of you have already guessed the big reveal in this chapter.**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,729**_

 _ **Story Count: 7,275**_

 _Previously: "Breathe," he murmured, interrupting the beginnings of a rambling babble that she got into whenever she got nervous._

 _Her hands and eyes dropped to her stomach, and when she looked back up at him she saw that his eyes had followed hers. "Sev... I'm pregnant."_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

He stared at her in mild disbelief.

"... You're... pregnant?" he asked unsteadily, and watched as tears filled her eyes as she nodded.

"Yes. I know we haven't talked about it, but I took a test, and I'm sorry if it's too soon—"

"We're pregnant?" he asked, having reached his hand up to cover her lips. He felt the grin burst across his face when she nodded again and, not wasting any time, he pulled his hand away only to replace it with his lips in a heated kiss.

"You're really happy about this?" asked Hermione, rather dazed from the kiss, after he'd pulled away.

"I'm ecstatic," he breathed as he brought up his hand again and caressed her face, pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead. "When did you find out?"

"This morning. I know I should have told you, but I needed to.. I had to…"

"You had to talk to Harry and Ron first?" he finished.

"Please don't be mad."

"I'm not," he said as he shook his head. "The three of you are extremely close, not unlike siblings; it's natural that you'd tell them anything of importance first. To be honest," he gave a small shrug of his shoulders, "I've come to expect it. So," he pressed a finger to her lips when she opened them to interrupt him, saying, "you don't have to explain your reasons for telling them first, Hermione; I understand."

She looked up at him, a loving expression on her face, before giving a relieved sigh and leaned her head against his chest, pulling him into a hug. Her voice was a soft whisper as she spoke.

"Thank you. And it wasn't because I'm still afraid of you, it's just that after the orphanage..."

It was as she drifted off that it suddenly all clicked in his head. It wasn't his reaction that she had been afraid of, it was of her families.

She had told Harry and Ron first because she was concerned that she would lose them when they found out she was pregnant with the dungeon bat's child. Even though they had seemed okay with their marriage, she was still insecure.

Severus tightened his arms around her.

He would just have to show her she had no reason to be. Not anymore.

* * *

Rodolphus walked quickly down the street towards the address of Meissa and his old apartment.

The last Christmas they had spent together, Rodolphus had given Meissa something from the magical world: one half of a pair of journals that were magically linked, and that could only be read by either two of them. She had believed that letters sent via owl would be too dangerous, and since she could not do magic, it had been him who had commissioned the journals.

He had paid a visit to Gringotts the day before, having accessed his vault—the private one he had set up for the two of them—and retrieved his own journal. He'd felt the warmth of the journal the moment he'd touched it in the vault, an indication that a message had been received. However, he chosen to wait he got back to his own apartment, away from prying eyes, before opening it to read.

 _February 13, 1979_

 _Dearest Rodolphus,_

 _I know that you said you wanted to take care of your brother, but I haven't heard from you in so long. I just need to know that you are okay._

 _I went to the doctor today, because I have been getting sick the last few weeks. Expecting it to be the flu, I had been waiting for it to go. You know how quickly I get over the flu. But it turned out not to be the flu at all._

 _I'm pregnant._

 _I hope that you'll be excited, because you kept telling me that you wanted us to have children, especially after my oh so charming sister told you she didn't want any. Where are you Rodo? How is Rabastan?_

 _Which would you prefer? A boy or a girl? What kind of names would you like? I think that if it were a boy, I would like to give him my fathers name. Because he always sent me letters, at least he did until his eventual death. What do you think of the name Rodolphus Cygnus Lestrange? Or Rodolphus Cygnus Black, as you and I can't marry. I think if it were a girl, I would want her to have a name that isn't strictly following familial traditions. I want her to have a name that no one in our family has had, but not one that is so abnormal that she will get made fun of._

 _I love you Rodolphus, and I hope to hear from, or see you soon._

 _Meissa_

There had been a few short updates afterwards: how the babies growth was progressing; when she had found out that they were having a daughter; the last was of her having chosen a name.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and realized that he was standing in front of the door to Meissa's old apartment. He raised his hand, and knocked.

* * *

Everybody was sitting around the table, conversation drifting amicably throughout the room.

Hermione stood up and cleared her throat, causing the many eyes to turn to her.

"I know that Severus and I haven't been married for long," Severus reached over and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of it, "but we have something to tell you."

"Well, what is it dear?" said Molly, a bit anxiously. She probably thought it was going to be bad news.

"Well, we're…" She suddenly felt afraid of their reactions.

Thankfully, Severus, having sensed her apprehension, stood and moved behind her, grasping both of her hands and placing them over her stomach.

"Well, we wanted to tell you that we are going to be having a baby," he said to the room.

Ginny squealed as she ran around the table, and she and Molly, who had come around the other side, pulled the two into a tight hug.

Molly pulled back and grasped Hermione's hands as the rest of the family began to began to get up and congratulate them. "When did you find out, dear?!"

"Wednesday," answered Severus for her.

"We thought today would be the perfect time to tell everyone since you're all here."

"This is so exciting!"

* * *

There was silence on the other side of the door, so he raised his hand and knocked again. After a moment when he heard nothing from the inside, he turned away from the door. He got down two of the steps before there was a light rustling from the inside, and the door opened.

He pivoted on his heel, and came face to face with the woman that he had loved ever since he had found her again.

"Meissa?"

Her hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh my goodness. Rodolphus!" She moved forward and hugged him. "I thought you were dead!"

"I'm so sorry," he said, and then pulled back. "Rabastan was severely injured and when he woke up and was healed enough for us to leave the house, the Dark Lord had disappeared. So Bellatrix dragged us along to the head Aurors house to try and find out if they knew where he was. We were captured shortly after, and I spent 15 years in Azkaban." She pulled him into the apartment at that point and showed him into the living room, where they sat down on the couch. "The dark lord broke us out about five years ago, and we were kept under guard. I was never let out of the house alone, but I knew that eventually I could try to find you. The years in Azkaban clouded my memory, and it was only recently that I remembered that I left my journal in the vault at Gringotts. And when I found it, I looked back to find the address of this apartment."

"What of Bellatrix? Or Rabastan?" asked Meissa.

"They are dead, as is the Dark Lord. I am finally free to be with you."

"Rodo, I have something to tell you," said Meissa, and he heard the anxiousness in the voice.

"What happened to our baby? How old is she now?"

Meissa looked down at her hands. "She would be 19, but Rodo—"

"Where is she, Meissa?"

"I don't know."

He got a stricken look on his face as he fully comprehended what she had said. "What?"

"I nearly died giving birth to her, I barely had time to name her before I slipped into a coma—"

"A coma?" he choked, staring at her. "How... H-how long were you..."

"Eight years," whispered Meissa.

"And out baby?"

Meissa sighed, her eyes closing as if in pain. "I had no family put down as the next of kin, so she was given to an orphanage," she said. "When I finally woke up, and was well enough to get her back, she had already been adopted."

"Did you not try to—"

"Of course I tried to get her back!" bellowed Meissa, standing up with tear filled eyes, "But I was in a coma for – eight – years – and when I finally got the address and approval to see her, I went to the house, but I couldn't..." She dropped back down onto the couch, seeming to have lost what little fight had had.

"You couldn't what?"

"I saw a girl through the window," said Meissa, her voice almost a whisper as her tears started to fall. "She could only have been our daughter, Rodo... She seemed... She seemed so happy." She gave a choked laugh as she wiped at her cheeks. "I couldn't tear her away from that life. Not after what I had been through."

"What was the address?" he asked, pulling her into a hug and letting her cry against his chest. "What was their name? I'm sure they would allow us to contact her."

"Their name was Granger. They lived somewhere in Surrey; I have the address written down somewhere."

But when Rodolphus had heard the name, his heart froze. "What did you say the name was?"

"Granger."

Surely Granger was a common enough name... their daughter couldn't possibly be…

"What did you name our daughter?"

"Hermione... She would be Hermione Granger now."


	6. Chapter Five

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's:**_ _ **Meissa Black, Healer Kaylee, Darren Parkinson, Chantel Palmer, Marie Brunsman**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,974**_

 _ **Story Count: 9,249**_

 **Chapter Five**

"Okay. Today, we're going to go over the Knockback Jinx," Hermione said once the first-years had taken their seats, shutting the door with a wave of her wand. "Now, who can tell me what the incantation is?"

A timid, Hufflepuff girl raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Brunsman."

"It's flipendo, Professor."

"Yes. Two points to Hufflepuff." Turning to the board, she gave another wave and the illustrations of the wand movement appeared, as well as information about the spell itself.

 **The knockback jinx is a jinx that can be used to physically repel an opponent, knock away an object, blast apart fragile objects, and activate magically charmed switches.**

"Now, we're going to practice the wand movement for a few minutes before we begin to practice casting the spell. Are there any questions?"

Darren raised his hand. "Professor, isn't this a second year spell?"

"Two points to Slytherin for noticing that, Mr. Parkinson." Noticing the class wasn't practicing their wand movement yet, she explained, "The spell is taught in the first year, but come next year, you will go over it again as an example of how to add more power to a spell. Now," she clasped her hands, looking around,"any other questions?"

The class progressed normally after that, Hermione having had them practice the required wand movement before they took to moving wrapped gummy bears across the desktops. Points were given when the spells were cast correctly, and the first years were happy to be allowed to eat the candy at the end of the lesson.

It didn't seem to be long after that that the bell rang, and as the students began packing up, she said, "Next class we're going to start learning about Red Caps, so please read through the material beforehand."

As she bid farewell to her class, Hermione turned to see Severus standing at the door waiting for the last of her students to leave. She smiled at his approach. "Hey."

"I was hoping to escort your lovely self to lunch," said Severus, holding out his elbow.

She laced her arm through his. "I would be honored, kind sir."

Locking the door behind them, the two made their way down to the Great Hall.

"Have you experienced any morning sickness yet?" asked Severus, shifting his hand so that it came around her waist.

"I did, actually; during second period. I had to cast a notice-me-not charm before I threw up in the bin and then vanished the mess. There was no way I was going to leave a fourth-year class all to themselves while we were reading about the Unforgivables."

"I agree," said Severus, pulling her against his side. "So when do you want to tell your parents?"

"Well, I wanted to go see an OB/GYN at St. Mungo's first. Just to know exactly how far along I am."

"What is an OBGYN?"

"Obstetrician – slash – gynecologist; a midwife, basically. I guess you'd call them Prenatal Healers, here? I'm not quite sure."

He nodded. "I'm sure that Poppy will be able to recommend one. When do you want to tell Minerva? Because you do realize you probably won't be able to teach the classes from fifth-year up."

"Why not?" she asked as they turned a corner, heading down towards the teachers' entrance to the Great Hall.

The look he gave her told her that he thought the answer should have been obvious. "You're teaching DADA, Hermione; if someone fires a spell at you it could harm the baby."

Her eyes widened. "You don't really think that—"

"No, I don't think any of the students would do it on purpose — In fact, I've heard nothing but good things about you from my Slytherins — But accidents happen... It's DADA after all."

"So we'd have to tell her soon, then?" she asked, pausing at the staff entrance.

"Well, at least before you start showing." He gave her midsection a considering look. "You should be okay for the first trimester, at least."

She grinned. "First trimester? Where on earth did you hear that from?"

"I did a little reading during my free period," replied Severus as he opened the door and lead them to their seats at the head table.

* * *

The Grangers were seated calmly in their living room, watching the telly, when there was a light knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Jean said, patting Richard on the knee when he made to stand, and went to the door. Staring through the peep-hole, she could make out a head of long, brown curls—clearly those of a woman. She could not see the stranger's face as they looking off to the side.

Curious, Jean opened the door and smiled enquiringly at the woman standing on their front step. "Hello? can I help you?"

It wasn't until after the woman had turned her head to face her that Jean suddenly realized who she was. "Oh my God," she whispered.

There was no mistaking the button nose or slender chin, nor the familiar light-brown eyes. Those, coupled with her head of messy curls, left no doubt as to who was standing in front of her. "Richard!" she called over her shoulder. She couldn't help the smile as she turned and waited.

Richard came around the corner from the living room, his expression one of concern, though it slowly morphed into one of shock as he took in the woman at their door. "Well, I'll be..."

"You know me?" asked the woman. She seemed surprised.

"Yes," said Richard as Jean nodded.

"Yes, of course. The resemblance is uncanny," Jean said, before she stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. "Please. Please, come in."

Moments later found the three of them sitting around the living room with cups of tea in their hands, Richard and Jean listening expectantly as Meissa explained her story.

"On September 19, 1979, I nearly died giving birth to my daughter," she'd started. "I had just enough time to name her before I slipped into a coma. I was in a coma for nearly eight years, and when I awoke, I started trying to find her. I was an orphan myself, and I hadn't seen Hermione's father since before I knew I was pregnant so she went to an orphanage. Thankfully, Hermione is a unique enough name that there was only the record of one in the system during that time. Before the system would consider letting me get her back, I had to finish my physical therapy, get a job, and get a new apartment."

Jean nodded sympathetically as Richard grasped her hand.

"When I had finally fulfilled all of the requirements to get her back, they gave me your address, and told me that you were notified that I would be coming to visit," finished Meissa.

"I remember that." Richard gave a nod. "It was about a year after we got her. But you never showed—"

"But I did. I was smiling the entire cab ride over here, but as I was approaching the door, I saw her through the window. And she looked so happy, I couldn't take her away from you."

"What made you change your mind?" asked Richard, "or shall I ask, why now?"

"Her father, he had been in an accident that affected his memory, and he couldn't remember where I lived, and he just recently found a series of letters that I had written him, the last of which included me telling him that I was pregnant. With him, and because Hermione is twenty now, I thought maybe she would be interested in meeting us."

"For most of the year, Hermione lives up north. We can send her a letter telling her that you stopped by and ask her if she would like us to set up a meeting."

"A letter?" said Meissa, her eyes widening. "You mean she's a witch?"

Jean blinked, and sensed as Richard stiffened next to her. Up to that point in their conversation, the two of them had been very careful with their words, as they had not been sure as to whether Miessa was a witch or not. She certainly had not given them any indication.

"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised; her father was a wizard," said Meissa. She had an awed smile on her face, before her expression softened. "I'm a squib, you see."

Jean felt a wave of sympathy. She'd heard the term, and had read about it in the a few of the texts that Hermione had brought back with her from the school library during her time as a student.

"Why did you not bring her father with you?" asked Richard.

"He had to meet with the authorities and renew his identification."

"When you said that his memory was affected in an accident..."

"Memory charms," offered Meissa, "and it wasn't an accident."

That took both Jean and Richard by surprise. It was also concerning.

"Do you know who placed them?" asked Richard.

Miessa sighed. "It was my sister."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, not exactly sure whether to pursue the current topic.

"Regardless of the situation: I'll be sure to send an owl to Hermione, to let her know you've visited," Jean finally said, coming back to their previous topic of discussion.

"I'd appreciated that very much. Thank you." Meissa gave her a thankful smile before her face took on a somewhat anxious look.

"What is it?" Jean asked.

"I was actually... I was hoping... do you have a recent photograph of her that I could maybe see?"

Jean smiled at her, sharing a look with Richard. "Of course." She moved over to the tall bookcase behind Meissa and picked one of the smaller frames off the shelf. It was one of several taken of Hermione and Severus' at their wedding. "This one was taken in last winter," she said as she handed it to Meissa, and watched her gasp as she brought her hand to her mouth.

"It's moving. I haven't seen that happen in so long." said Meissa as she continued to gaze upon the photo. "And I can't believe she's married."

"He is really good for her. She had to deal with a lot as a child. They never told her at the orphanage that she was there because her mother was in a coma. When we got her she was sure that she had been there because her parents didn't want her. She worked very hard to be the best student in her class, both in Primary school, and when she went to Hogwarts. All in attempt to make us proud"

It was at that moment that the phone rang and Richard excused himself to answer it. Meissa just continued to stare at the photo until he returned. "Jean, the office just called. They need us to come in."

Jean sighed. Today of all days.

Meissa stood up. "I'm sorry, I'll just leave." She held out the photo.

Jean shook her head. "Keep it, we have others."

"Thank you," said Meissa, holding it against her breast. "You don't know how must this means to me."

Jean picked up a pen and a pad of paper that was sitting on the table next to the couch. "Will you write down your phone number so that we can call you when we get a letter back from Hermione?"

"Of course."

* * *

When Severus returned to their quarters to find Hermione sitting on the couch, staring blankly at a piece of paper. Apollo was sitting on the back of the couch, so he knew that it was from her parents.

"Hermione? What is it?" he asked. As he came around, she turned her face up to stare at him.

"My parents sent me a letter, they said they've been contacted by my birth parents... They want to meet me."


	7. Chapter Six

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's:**_ _ **Meissa Black, Healer Kaylee, Darren Parkinson, Chantel Palmer, Marie Brunsman**_

 _ **~Enjoy**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count- 1,341**_

 _ **Story Word Count- 10,589**_

 **Chapter Six**

"Hermione, this could be a good thing. You'd finally learn where you came from."

The three of them were seated around the small campfire they'd made for the night, and Hermione could feel Ron and Harry watching her as she thought about her situation.

"But I know where I come from," she said as she stared at Harry. "I come from an orphanage where I lived for my early childhood because my parents didn't want me. Then I lived with my mum and dad, and they are the only parents that I have. These people—whoever they are, whatever they are—are not my parents."

"I know that," said Harry, "but maybe they had good reasons—"

"There is never a good reason for abandoning a child," she hissed, effectively cutting him off as anger welled up within her. "What did you tell Remus when he wanted to join us on the hunt? A coward? That's what these people are. Cowardly scum."

When he nor Ron said anything, she let out a sigh. She brought her knees up off the ground and tucked them against her chest and under her chin, her arms coming around to wrap around them.

"Sorry," she said, calming down. "I'm just not sure what to do.

"On the one hand: I want to meet them; to know why they left me; to know who they are. But on the other: these are the people who didn't even give me a chance to be their daughter." Her voice became almost a whisper as she finished.

Harry and Ron left their respective stumps, coming to her sides.

"Whichever you choose, we'll support you," said Ron, his arm coming around the back of her shoulders.

"And if you don't want to meet them," said Harry, his arm going around her waist, "I'll go instead and make apologies."

She looked up at him, stunned. "Really?"

"Absolutely," he said. "Write your parents and ask them to set up a meeting for two weeks from now. If, when the time comes, you don't want to go, then I'll go for you. No questions asked."

* * *

Ron let out a sigh as he closed the door behind him, the noises and vibrations from the shop below muted from the silencing charm the twins had placed upon the apartment when they'd moved in.

"Sounds busy down there," said a voice from the couch, and Ron gave a small smile when he spotted Draco sitting there, holding a cup of what Ron presumed to be tea in his hand, and the Daily Prophet in the other.

"It is." He gave a grunt as he plonked himself down next to the blond. "Fred and George'll take over for the rest of the afternoon."

Draco gave a small hum as he replaced his cup on the table and flipped through the paper. Ron watched him lazily for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

"Mal—" He stopped himself, before laughing softly. At Draco's questioning look he said, "We've been dating for almost a month and I'm still not used to calling you anything but Malfoy."

Draco gave a soft huff. "We've been calling each other by our surnames for almost a decade now, Weasley. Old habits die hard. Tea?" he said indicating the tray on the table.

Ron have a nod, continuing to watch him before changing the topic, saying, "Business is doing good. Fred and George think that we'll be able to open the Hogsmeade shop in a couple of months; just have to find somewhere to put it. How's your..." Trailing off, he frowned in thought. "You know, come to think of it, I don't know what it is that you actually do."

Draco snorted as he handed him his tea. "I do several things," he said, leaning back to take a sip of his. "One of which includes working part-time for my father's company."

"He owns a company?" Ron said, blinking at him, though, when he thought about it, he shouldn't be so surprised. "What does it do?"

"Stock trading," said Draco simply.

"And when you're not there?" Ron asked, sighing when he took a sip from his cup and realized that Draco had made his favorite.

At his question, the blond paused, staring down at his cup. "I'm… at school."

Ron frowned as he straightened up on the couch. "School? For what?"

"Healing," said Draco, finally turning his head to look at him. "I'm training to be a Healer."

Ron blinked as his lips parted slightly in surprise.

"Really?" At Draco's nod, his face broke out into a grin,. "Malfoy, that's amazing!"

"You think so?" Draco asked before his expression turned slightly sad. "There are those who would say otherwise. Not many people would be comfortable dealing with a Death Eater—"

"Hey." Ron shifted forward off the couch and onto the floor so that he was suddenly kneeling between the blond's knees. "You're not the same person you were back then, and a lot of people know that" he said, reaching up with his hands and framing Draco's face. "And you've worked very hard to make up for what you've done." Pulling the others face down as he lifted his, Ron pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. "I'm proud of you," he murmured when he pulled away.

Draco only stared down at him dazedly before his hands came up and tangled in Ron's hair, before lowering his head for another kiss.

* * *

"I've asked my parents to arrange a meeting with my birth parents," Hermione announced during breakfast. Sitting across from her, Severus paused, a forkful of toast, bacon and egg halfway to his mouth.

"I thought that you had decided not to?" he asked, looking oddly at her as he as he took the bite.

"I discussed it with the boys," she replied, nursing her cup of tea. "Harry volunteered to go in my stead and make apologies if I changed my mind."

Severus took a sip of his tea as he contemplated the idea. "That sounds reasonable enough," he finally said. "Your parents know who he is, and he is adept at handling bad situations should it go sour."

She smiled at him in mock-surprise. "Were you actually complimenting Harry Potter."

"Don't get used to it," he quipped, though he couldn't hold back his smirk.

Before she could say anything, there was a loud 'pop', and a house elf appeared next to the table, carrying a tray of what appeared to be croissants and an assortment of breakfast odds and ends. No sooner had the creature placed the tray on the table, Hermione let out a choking sound, before she suddenly threw her chair back and shot towards the bathroom. Severus blinked his surprise after her, before letting out a sigh.

"You did nothing wrong," he told the elf when it looked up at him, wringing one of his floppy ears. "It's just her morning sickness."

"Can Jergo be helping at all, sirs?"

"Just take the tray away, please. I apologize for your wasted effort," Severus said as he stood.

"Not a problems, sirs. Jergo understands."

"Thank you," he said just before the elf disappeared, having returned to the kitchens.

As he made his way to the bathroom, he heard the sounds of retching from within.

* * *

Rodolphus and Meissa paid little attention to the television, their focus more on each other than on the movie.

"We did it," whispered Meissa.

Rodolphus smiled, watching as she traced together their left hands, the gold rings on their fingers shining under light of the living room. They'd returned to the apartment less than three hours ago from the courthouse, in happy spirits after their court marriage.

"So, what now?" Meissa looked up at him, still keeping their fingers splayed together.

"We wait." Rodolphus sighed. "Next weekend, we'll meet Hermione and explain why we were both missing from her life."

"And what if she doesn't forgive us?"

He sighed, turning his head to stare blankly at the screen. "Then we fight for her."


	8. Chapter Seven

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia. I've decided to just put an entire list of Original characters on my profile, as there are quite a few.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,257**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 12,846**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 _"So, what now?" Meissa looked up at him, still keeping their fingers splayed together._

 _"We wait." Rodolphus sighed. "Next weekend, we'll meet Hermione and explain why we were both missing from her life."_

 _"And what if she doesn't forgive us?"_

 _He sighed, turning his head to stare blankly at the screen. "Then we fight for her."_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

"This is so exciting," breathed Molly as she picked at Ginny's dress.

The two of them and Hermione stood in the little side room at the boutique where Ginny had decided to get her wedding dress.

"My only daughter, getting married." Molly shot them both a covert look. "Now we need to fix Ronald up with someone."

"Mum," sighed Ginny, "I don't think Ron's ready for another relationship; look at what happened with Lavender."

Hermione hid her smile from the two of them, turning and idly fingering through the line of dresses on one of the racks off to the side.

"He just hasn't found the right girl yet," continued Molly. Ginny shook her head as she went back into the changing room.

"And when are you and Severus going to be able to find out the sex of my first grandchild?"

Hermione's eyes widened as she turned fully to look at her. "Your first grandchild?"

"Well, of course, dear." Molly's face broke out into a kind expression. "You know that I've always thought of you as a daughter."

Hermione felt the soft blush on her face as she smiled at Molly. "That's great, Molly; Severus and I would be honored." She gave a soft laugh, shaking her head. "She'll be blessed growing up with three sets of grandparents," she said, and watched as Molly's expression brightened at the pronoun.

"A little girl!" she sighed, but then frowned. "What do you mean by 'three sets'? Severus' parents passed quite a long time ago." She donned a curious look.

"My birth parents," Hermione said, and Molly's eyes widened.

"They contacted you?" she whispered, ducking her head closer.

"Over a week ago. They talked to Mum and Dad and said that they would like to meet me. I don't know how it will work out, but I'd assume that since they expressed their want to get to know me, they'd want to be a part of my daughter's life as well."

Before they could talk further, they were interrupted when their attendant, Viviana, returned just as Ginny walked out of the changing room.

"Is everything alright in here?" she asked Ginny, who stood in front of the mirrors. "I just wanted to check and see if you had any more ideas on the kind of dress you wanted."

"I'm thinking off the shoulder; Something suitable for an outdoor wedding."

Viviana smiled at them. "Let's see what we have."

Four hours later, which consisted of throwing around ideas and skillful wand waving on Viviana's part, found the three of them back at the Burrow, staring at the finished product which now hung in Ginny's closet.

"My wedding dress took more than two months to finish and we managed yours in one day," Hermione said from her seat on Ginny's bed. "Magic truly is a marvel, isn't it? Muggles usually have to choose the date before even planning for the dress."

"Speaking of," murmured Molly as she looked at Ginny, "have you chosen a date?"

"Early November," answered Ginny promptly as she continued to admire her gown.

"That's lovely, Ginny. What—"

The sound of Hermione's stomach rumbling through the small room cut off the rest of Molly's sentence, and Hermione felt her face heat up as the other two chuckled.

"Come along, dear," said Molly as she gestured towards the door. "Let's get you downstairs and fed properly, or Severus would have our hides for letting the two of you starve."

* * *

Harry had just buttoned up his emerald-green dress shirt when he felt the tell-tale sensation in the wards alerting him to Ginny's arrival, which was announced with a soft crack.

"What are you getting all dressed up for?" came her voice from behind him.

He waved a hand at the table, indicating the letter Hermione had sent him. "Hermione told me she couldn't do it, so I'm going to her parents." He kicked a loafer at the ground and turned around. "How do I look?"

She reached out and adjusted the Windsor knot of his tie. "You look very handsome, as you always do."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "I'm not sure how long I'll be there. Wait up for me?"

Ginny hummed as she smiled coyly at him, leaning into him. "How do you want me?"

He grinned down at her. "Do you remember the time with your quidditch jersey?" he whispered.

She returned his grin. "You liked that, didn't you?" When he only nodded, she leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Then you better hurry back."

Harry apparated straight onto the porch of the Granger residence, the charms Hermione had placed upon the household hiding his sudden arrival from would-be muggle onlookers, and knocked on the door.

It was Jean Granger who answered.

"Hello, Harry." She gave him a hug in greeting which he returned.

"Hello, Mrs. Granger."

"Is Hermione coming?" asked Jane as they stepped into the lobby, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, that's what I came to talk to you about."

She moved aside and led him into the living room where Richard was speaking to a woman who had her back turned to him. "It's not a problem at all, ma'am." He spoke gently, assuaging her fears.

The woman turned and saw him. She gushed as she approached. "Oh, Richard and Jean have showed me pictures of you. It's nice to meet you, Harry."

Seeing her face, Harry did a double take. She looked just like...

"Andromeda?" he whispered as he took a step back in shock.

The woman froze at the name, before she collected herself. "No," she said, shaking her head, "Andromeda is my sister."

"Sister?" Harry frowned, already taking note of the small but present differences between Tonk's mother and this woman. "But Andromeda only had two sisters," he said. "Narcissa and Bellatrix."

"I'm Andromeda's twin. Meissa."

"… Meissa…" Harry tested the name as he studied her. "How come I haven't heard of you before? I don't recall seeing your name on the Black Family tapestry."

Meissa's shoulders slumped as she gave a tired sigh. "I'm a squib," she said. "My mother blasted my name of the tapestry when she was told and too soon after that I was disowned."

"They kicked you out?"

"It was far better than the alternative." Meissa shrugged. "Mother and Aunt Walburga"— Harry flinched at the latter's name —"had insisted on having me killed, but my father stepped in. He'd told them that he would obliviate me so that the secret would be kept." A sad smile crossed on her lips. "He didn't, though. He had enough compassion to tell me he loved me before leaving me at the orphanage."

Harry could only stare at her, unable to say anything. Jean and Richard had moved into the living room at the beginning of their conversation and he could hear the low noise of the TV, and faintly, the sound of a door opening.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out, but she only shook her head at him.

"There's no need to apologize; it wasn't you fault," she told him as she gave him a kind smile. It stayed for a few moments before her expression gave way to anxiousness. "Where is Hermione?" she asked tentatively. "Is she coming?"

Harry sighed softly, before he began to speak. "Actually, she had an important erran..." His voice faded though as a tall figure suddenly appeared around the corner behind Meissa, having just come from, he assumed, the bathroom. The familiar features under the warm light of the corridor all but shouted out to him, and before Harry realized what he had done, he'd taken a step around Meissa, his wand was out of his jacket pocket and in his hand, the tip pointed directly at the male's face. "Lestrange!"

Rodolphus Lestrange paused in the corridor, his hands already raised on both sides of his head. "Mr. Potter."

"What the bloody hell are you doing here!?" Harry hissed.

"To talk," answered Rodolphus, "and to meet my daughter." He gave Harry an imploring look. "Please, I beg that you listen to what my wife and I have to say."

"Your wife?" Harry felt the blood drain from his face as the realization of what Rodolphus was implying dawned on him. "You can't possibly expect me to believe that!" He shook his head as spoke. "Hermione being your daughter is one thing; that she's the offspring of your psychotic bitch of a wife is quite another—and completely preposterous!"

"Please, Mr. Potter, let us explain the entire story to you before you decide what to with me." When Rodolphus saw that he was waiting he continued. "When I said my wife, I was not talking about Bellatrix."

"Who then?" Harry demanded.

"Me," answered Meissa from beside him and he looked at her in disbelief.

"You?" He frowned. "Wait… When did you two even get married?"

"Last week, at the courthouse. So, yes, Meissa is my wife," affirmed Rodolphus. "I love her—she's the love of my life—and years ago, I would have married her, had she not been a squib, and I not held by the magic of my family's vow. So, please," asked Rodolphus, desperately, "will you listen to what we have to say?"

Silence followed his question as Harry stared at him for a few moments, before shifting his gaze to Meissa, and then back again to Rodolphus. "All right," he said, "I'll listen." He watched Rodolphus' frame slump in relief.

"Wait," said Meissa, her expression turning upset, "we shouldn't start anything until Hermione gets here."

Harry couldn't help his flinch as Rodolphus spoke to her. "Darling, Hermione isn't coming; that is why Mr. Potter is here."

Eyes that might have well been superimposed onto his best friend's face began to well up with tears. "But we were told..." She trailed off into sniffled whimpers.

"She asked me to come to apologize for her absence," Harry told her softly. "And I said that I would listen," he looked at Lestrange, "so it's best you start talking."

"Of course," nodded Rodolphus. "Let's take this into the living room, shall we?"

The moved into the empty living room, the Grangers having tactfully migrated into the kitchen, and settled into their seats.

"What did you mean when you said 'the woman you would have married'?" Harry began.

"I was just a small boy when my parents started negotiations with the Blacks for a marriage. Meissa was initially chosen to be my bride, but when she showed no magical ability, her family had her tested at St. Mungo's." Rodolphus ran a hand through his hair. "She was discovered as a squib, and so Bellatrix was chosen." He said the name as if it were an expletive. "Memories of Meissa's existence were erased from both her and Andromeda's minds—Narcissa had yet to be born—after which point their father dropped her off at the orphanage."

Harry shifted his gaze from him to Meissa. "If you were dropped at an orphanage, then how did you two find each other?"

Meissa looked up at Rodolphus, and gave a small smile as she answered. "That would be all his doing."

"It was after I had turned seventeen and the Trace had disappeared," said Rodolphus. "I received a notice from Gringrotts that Cygnus had left a letter for me before he died. It held details of the orphanage where he'd left Meissa. It was an all-girls school and home, not to far off from Grimmauld Place. Even if Meissa was no longer there, it would not have been hard to track her down from their records," he finished.

"I wish I could remember more of him," said Meissa, sadly. "The letters he sent every year on my birthday are the only things I have of him."

Harry, though he didn't know how Hermione would react everything, made a mental not to scour Grimmauld Place for a picture of Cygnus for Meissa. It made him think of the only memory he had of his mother: her pleading for his life before being murdered by Voldermort.

"He found me working as a maid in a little bed and breakfast in London," said Meissa. "One of the women that used to work part-time at the orphanage had opened it up and offered me a job."

Rodolphus laughed. "I didn't tell her who I was at first; it was almost a month before I finally came clean." he said, then to Meissa, "You were absolutely livid."

"Yes, I was." Meissa shook her head, though she gave him a fond smile.

"So that was when the two of you got together?" asked Harry. At their nods, he frowned, looking to Rodolphus. "But from what I recall about your history, you married Bellatrix fresh out of Hogwarts." Harry watched as the light in his eyes died and smile on Meissa lips turned sad.

"Yes," he said, gravely. "I would have said to hell with the contract, had it not been for the stipulations agreed between Druella and my father."

"Which were?" said Harry, though he already had an idea.

Rodolphus took breath. "If either Bellatrix or myself tried to finagle our way out, we would be wiped of our memories, our magic bound, and then dropped at an undisclosed location. So I did something that I had never wanted to do, and married Bellatrix Black, so that I did not lose all hopes of being with the woman that I love."


	9. Chapter Eight

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,438**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 14,284**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

It was getting ever closer to midnight, and Meissa still had tears on her face from speaking about the loss of her daughter, when Rodolphus stood and gestured to the door. "I assume you'd want to take me to the Aurors now."

Meissa sobbed, "no. Please don't!"

"Don't worry ma'am," Harry said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder, while meeting Rodolphus's eye. "At this moment I have no intention of turning you into the aurors. So long as you swear on your magic that you do not intend to harm my sister."

"Anything, Mr. Potter. You need only ask."

Harry nodded. "Just the oath for now, and I will take a few days, try and think over what I'm going to tell Hermione, and then I will get ahold of you."

"Thank you."

 **Chapter Eight**

Hermione had grown concerned when Harry had not come to Hogwarts following the meeting with her birth parents. At first, she'd thought that the meeting had run later than expected and that he had gone home instead.

That had been two days ago, enough time for her to be paranoid and theorise several reasons, ranging from simple to outright ridiculous, as to why he still hadn't contacted her. Not exactly the best state to be in when her appointment with the pre-natal healer was swiftly approaching.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione focused her mind on the upcoming appointment as left her quarters for breakfast. For some reason, Severus had not been there when she had awoken. He'd had not been in the living room when she had finally stepped out of their room fully-dressed for the day.

Stepping into the Great Hall from the teacher's staff room, she frowned at Severus' vacant seat.

"I wonder where he is," she murmured as she took her seat next to his before turning and giving a greeting to Minerva and starting in on her breakfast.

She had only just taken a sip of her tea when the first screech's from above signalled the arrival of the morning post. She was surprised when she noticed Ginny's owl, [insert name here], among the arrivals. [she/he] swooped down and landed neatly on the edge of the table, before hopping the rest of the way between the plates of food to her side. She stared at him for a few seconds in trepidation before reaching and untying the envelop attached to [her/his] outreached leg. Somehow, she was almost surprised when she got an owl from Harry. Opening the envelope, she unfolded the letter and began to read.

 _Hermione,_

 _The meeting with your parents was, to put it lightly, interesting. I'm sorry for not contacting you sooner, but I needed some time to sort my head out._

 _Your birth mother is Meissa Black, twin sister to Andromeda Tonks nee Black, Tonk's mother. She was disowned by the family when they discovered that she was a squib, which is why none of us never heard of her. From what I had learnt, any and all memories of her were wiped from Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa's minds. Your grandparents and birth father were the only ones who were aware or her existence._

 _As for the history of your birth father, his story is a long and complicated one. We had to make a trip to St. Mungo's to verify a lot of his claims about what had been done to him. I also had to do the same on some of your mother's history. Both she and your father are not what any of us could have expected._

 _This may not make you feel any better, but you should know that they do care for you. They'll be able to answer all your questions._

 _When you're ready, owl me._

 _Harry_

Hermione stared down at the parchment dumbfounded, her breakfast forgotten.

She was related to Andromeda… which meant that it had been her aunt that had carved the inscription into her arm that night in Malfoy Manor.

Hermione didn't even remember getting out of her chair, her mind focused on the fact that she needed to get to a quiet place, a place to think. Her room.

She had barely taken a step towards the staff room when her vision suddenly clouded, her mind coloring with confusion before the world faded into darkness.

She came to with a groan seemingly only seconds later, squinting at the warm light of the hospital wing.

"You have no idea how worried I was when Parkinson ran into my office and told me that you had fainted at breakfast."

Groaning, Hermione blinked to adjust her vision to see Severus standing at the edge of her hospital bed.

"Darren was the one to come get you?" she asked, her voice dry as she raised herself up on her hands into a sitting position.

"You seem to have gained a fan." Severus raised his hand and Hermione saw that he held Harry's letter. "I read this. It at least explains why you passed out." He said this just as Pomfrey came into sight from behind the divider.

"You gave us quite the fright there, my dear," said Poppy, waving her wand at her, and the air in front of Hermione lit up with numerous small lights as the diagnostic spell took effect. "But from the look of things, you're fine."

"And the baby?" Hermione asked as one hand went to her stomach.

The little light show came to settle around her stomach before Pomfrey gave her a reassuring smile. "The baby is fine, too. Congratulations to you both."

Hermione returned the smile as she threw back the sheet off of her and brought her legs off the bed, but Severus was frozen, his hand still grasping hers. He was staring down at the hovering lights around her stomach, listening intently to the soft but low pulsing sound their were giving off.

"Is that… is that the baby's heartbeat?"

Poppy's smile parted into a grin.

"Yes, it is."

* * *

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _I am not sure as to how much Harry told you of our meeting, but I just wanted you to know that I never wanted to leave you. Due to his circumstances, your father had left to care for his brother before either of us knew that I was pregnant. I don't know if Harry made mention of them to you, but there were complications during your birth. It would be best that I explain them to you in person._

 _Your parents were kind enough to give us one of your wedding photos. You look so beautiful, as does your husband. The two of you seem to complement each other quite well._

 _There are so many things that I want to tell you. So many things that I need to, and want to explain. And I promise to answer all of your questions._

 _Your parents suggested that lunch on the 10th of October would be a suitable date to meet. We both hope that you will come._

 _With the greatest love,_

 _Meissa Black_

Meissa leaned away from the desk and stared down at the letter. She wished that she could have signed it with her married name, but she knew that Hermione would not be ready for that yet. She folded the paper up and had it sealed in an envelope in no time.

She would be forever grateful to the Grangers. Not only had they willingly accepted her into their lives, but they had offered to forward any mail she would want to send to Hermione.

* * *

Frank Travers was on an important mission.

At the moment he was disillusioned behind some bushes as he stared into the window. He was working on making up for mistaking that filthy mudblood for his love. He should have known that she would not snap at him. Not when he was doing what he was for her.

He watched silently as the little boy wrote in the journal. Black hair and shining hazel eyes, diligently writing out his letters carefully.

He had done research on what would happen afterwards, and he knew that most people would think that it was a killing curse that killed the boy. However, after having heard some of the rumors about Harry Potters earlier school years, he was hoping that the boy wonder would realize what it was that was draining the child's power. After all, nothing would give his mistress more pleasure than knowing that Harry Potter knew what was wrong, yet could not fix it.

It wouldn't be much longer, he thought, as he saw the letters of the boys crayon disappear into the paper.


	10. Chapter Nine

_**Disclaimer:**_ _ **I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta:**_ _ **The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings:**_ _ **Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's:**_ _ **See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,923**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 16,207**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 **Chapter Nine**

 _Hermione,_

 _Enclosed is a letter from Meissa, who I'm sure Harry has told you is your biological mother. She wished for you to read it, though I understand if you are not ready._

 _I was also hoping that you would join me for lunch tomorrow afternoon at Café de Fleur._

 _Love always,_

 _Jean_

Hermione shifted her gaze from her mothers short letter, feeling her brows pinch slightly as she took in the smaller envelope that been tucked within the folded paper.

She was sitting at the staff table in the Great Hall with the other Professors, Severus in the seat beside her, and she had made no attempt to hide her mother's words from him.

Looking at her expression, he reached over and gave her hand a soft squeeze in reassurance. "You don't have to read it."

Despite his words, her frown remained. "I know, but I feel like I should," she replied as she handled the envelope. "At least give her a chance to explain herself."

"Would you like to go back to the quarters? I could read it to you," he suggested calmly.

"No, it's fine," she said as she gave a shake of her head and stood. Subtly, she brought her hand down to her stomach and felt the slight bulge.

Severus stood with her, and gave her a light kiss on the cheek as they left the table. "I'll come and get you for lunch," he said when they were in the corridors, "but if you need me before then, don't hesitate to call."

She frowned at him, irritation rising. "Just because I'm pregnant does not mean that I need you to coddle me, Severus; I am a grown woman," she snapped before promptly turning on her heel and storming off towards the staircase.

Her fury lasted only until she plopped herself down in the chair in her office. Giving a heavy sigh, she looked around the room before her eyes settled down on the envelope on the her desk. Steeling herself, she picked it up and began tearing the seal open, determined to remain impassive to whatever words the woman who had given birth her had written.

But as she read the letter, she knew that it would be impossible to do so.

It was surprisingly earnest, and by the time she had reached the end, all the tension she had gathered since she had opened her mother's letter had disappeared.

Leaning back in her chair, she continued to assess the letter, going over the first paragraph that Meissa her written, about the 'circumstances' concerning her biological father. She thought back to Harry's letter and his mention of taking her father to St. Mungo's to verify his claims, and his investigation into Meissa's history.

Hermione knew that Harry would have been very meticulous with his investigation, so it would be sage for her to assume that everything written in Meissa's letter would be the truth, if not all out if.

Rereading the letter, Hermione focused on the words 'there were complications during your birth'.

She brought her hand down and rubbed her belly as she pondered those words. Complications were what she had feared when she had learned she was pregnant. She had already spoken to Poppy and their PreNatal Healer, Healer Kaylee, about any possible complications, but she'd have inform them of Meissa's history once she found out all the details.

By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast and for students to return to their dorms to prepare for their classes, there were tears in her eyes. Hastily, she wiped at her eyes and forced her tears down, knowing that it wouldn't do her any good to appear teary-eyed in front of her seventh-year students.

Severus had been watching her throughout dinner, and frowned slightly when he saw that she was close to tears. He stood up, and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her with him, and they swiftly made their exit through the staffroom.

"Thank you," whispered Hermione as he led her through the corridors to make it to their quarters. Students were still eating so there was little chance of them being seen.

"What is wrong?" he asked, though he figured that it had to do with the letter.

Hermione didn't say anything until they had the door to their living room shut behind them. "She said that there were complications during my birth—I've spent most of my life being angry at my birth parents for not wanting me, but they did—You read the letter from Harry—and Meissa said in her letter that my father disappeared before he knew that she was pregnant..."

Severus had a hard time deciphering her jumbled speech, between the sobs, but he just pulled her close until she needed him to talk.

* * *

Cafe de Fleur was surprisingly sparse for the Saturday lunch hour, though Jean thought it mostly to do with the weather. She and Meissa had arrived promptly at half-noon, Jean knowing that the lunch period at Hogwarts began at 12:45 pm.

They'd ordered tea on their arrival, their conversation light before Meissa had excused herself to visit the restroom, most likely in an effort to collect herself.

Catching sight of Hermione at the door, Jean raised her hand to draw her attention and waited as she approached their table.

"Is dad joining us?" asked Hermione after giving her a kiss on the forehead, "because there's something I have to tell the two of you."

Jean shook her head. "No, he won't coming. It's just Meissa and I." She watched as Hermione spotted the handbag that was sitting in the vacant chair next to hers.

"She's in the restroom?" said Hermione, to which Jean nodded.

A waitress came to take Hermione's order and Jean waited for her to leave before she spoke.

"Dear," she said, making sure that she had her daughter's attention before continuing, "there is something your father and I haven't told you."

"What is it?" asked Hermione, her head tilted slightly to the side in question.

"It has to do with why your father and I eventually decided to adopt," Jean said. "You had probably already guessed, as with most couples that adopt, it had been because we hadn't been able to conceive." Hermione's expression soften slightly in understanding as she nodded. "That wasn't exactly the case.

"It was about five years before we adopted you. I had finally gotten pregnant and the following nine months had been gone by with no complications. It was only during labor that we discovered that he had been still born. The doctors said that he hadn't been getting enough oxygen."

Hermione reached across the table and held her hands. "Thank you for telling me."

"The doctors said the chances of us conceiving again were low, and after a few years we decided to adopt. We never could have imagined how lucky we were when we found you, dear."

Hermione gave her a soft smile before her gaze shifted off to the side, and her posture straightened. "Is that her?" she asked suddenly, voice almost a whisper.

Looking over her right shoulder, Jean spotted Meissa making her way back to them. "Yes, that's her."

"Hermione," said Meissa as she reached the table but did not take her seat. "It's lovely to finally meet you."

"When Harry told me that we look just alike I didn't quite believe him," said Hermione as she stood up to greet her, a hand held out in greeting. "You must be Meissa Black."

"Black would be my maiden name," said Meissa as they both retook their seats. "Harry and your biological father have been visiting the Ministry for the past few days. Harry said that it would be best to sort out your father's situation before informing you of his identity."

Hermione nodded. "He said as much in his letter," she said, her tone showing slight irritation.

Meissa smiled at her expression. "He predicted that you wouldn't be too pleased."

"I'm supposed to meet with him later," sighed Hermione. "He's planning to show me his memory of your meeting."

"You can do that?" Meissa asked, blinking. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since my father was able to erase memories." She shook her head, seemingly in awe. "Despite my relationship with your father, I've spent all of my life in the muggle world, so I don't know that much about anything when it comes to magic, aside from its existence."

"The most accurate method for viewing memories is with a Pensieve; basically a shallow basin with runes etched into the bowl. All Harry has to do is extract the memory of his meeting with you from his mind and place into the Pensieve," Hermione explained with a thoughtful look. "I've never actually used one, but Harry said that you view the memory as if you were actually there, though as an unseen bystander."

"That's amazing," Meissa said.

"See," said Jean as she looked between the two of them. "I knew that you two would find something to talk about."

"Magic has always fascinated me," Meissa said. "I was only just over a year old, but I can still remember being a little girl and watching my mother and aunt do amazing things with there wands."

"You have a very good memory," said Hermione, appearing surprised.

Meissa laughed. "You could say that I was very apt for my age. That didn't change when my father dropped me off at the orphanage. I was no longer able to observe magic, so I just turned to other things. I spent most of my time reading the books that they had there. It was the same in primary and high school. I always had my head in some book or another. I hear that that's something you might have inherited," she said, giving Hermione a small smile.

Hermione nodded. "The other children would always tease me for it; they said I was a little know-it-all." She paused, a reflection of Meissa smile appearing on her lips. "But then I turned eleven and eventually received my letter, then began attending Hogwarts. Things began to get easier after that."

* * *

A wicked smirk burst across his face as he peered in through the glass into the living room and saw the child unconscious on the floor, the journal clutched in his little hands.

He watched as the boy's mother walked into the room, reeling in shocking as she spotted her son's body.

"CHARLES! CHARLES! CALL A HEALER!" he heard her cry as she rushed over and dropped down beside her son's body.

The woman's husband burst into the living room and, after taking in the scene, hurried over to the fireplace which ignited with a wave of his wand. Grabbing a handful of green powder from the jar atop the mantle he threw it into the fire, turning it green, before bending down and sticking his head through them.

"ST. MUNGOS!"

All the while, the woman sat cradling her son's limp body, murmuring continuously. "Damien, you need to be okay, son. Do you hear me, Damien? You NEED to be okay!"

Minutes passed as a few Healers came through the fireplace, all of them examining the boy as his parents watched anxiously.

The last thing Frank Travers saw before he apparated was the flickering image of his mistress standing behind the group of people. He couldn't help his laughter as he disappeared, because he knew that they were too late.


	11. Chapter Ten

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta: The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,665**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 17,872**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 **Sequentia Cor Meum**

 **Chapter Ten**

 **MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF YOUNG BOY BEING INVESTIGATED BY AURORS**

 _Written by: Silas Dogood_

 _Healers and Aurors are baffled by the case of young Damien Brunsman, who fell unconscious shortly after noon on Saturday. The five-year old was rushed to St. Mungos but was pronounced dead barely an hour after his arrival. The Aurors have testimonies from Damien's parents, Kaitlin and Charles Brunsman, about how they found their son._

 _"He was in the sitting room drawing in his journal, and asked if he could have some juice. I wasn't gone from the room for more than five minutes before returning to find him passed out on the floor," said Mrs. Brunsman._

 _"I was in the study when I heard her (Kaitlin) scream for me to call a Healer. When I ran into the sitting room, she was on the floor cradling Damien. I quickly called St. Mungo's Emercency Department," said Mr. Brunsman as he comforted his wife. "The healers worked tirelessly on him before deciding that he needed to be transferred to the hospital. He was dead within the hour," he finished, overcome with grief._

 _Due to the circumstances of the young boys death, Aurors have brought in some of their trainees to help with the investigation, one of whom is the Harry James Potter..._

Hermione gazed worriedly down at the article.

The Sunday mid-morning had found both her and Severus in their quarters with their late breakfast. It had been relatively peaceful until she'd actually taken a look at the Prophet that Jergo had brought.

"I have a Brunsman in my class," she said softly. "A Hufflepuff."

"I have her, too." Severus sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Her parents came yesterday and took her home after they met with Minerva and Pomona."

"Do they know what happened?" she asked, but Severus only shook his head. "I'll ask Harry. If there's a virus going around—"

Severus grasped her hand and pressed it against his lips. "Worrying about the unknown will not do either of us any good. Let's wait until we know more about the situation. St. Mungo's would have made an announcement if it turned out that whatever had killed Damien had been contagious."

Hermione sighed. "You're right," she said, but did not let go of his hand as he lowered hers. "Can we go to my parents house this afternoon? I think that it's time to tell them our news."

"I thought you told your mother yesterday?" he replied, eyebrow arching in his confusion.

"I had intended to, but she had my birth mother there." She ran a hand over her stomach. "I didn't feel comfortable sharing news of our pregnancy with her yet."

* * *

Harry knocked lightly on the door of the quiet home, feeling the despair that hung heavily around it. A woman bearing a strong resemblance to Kaitlin Brunsman answered the door. He saw her eyes widen at the sight of him. "Mr. Potter."

"Hello," he greeted. "I've been sent to investigate the house. I'm not sure if Mr. and Mrs. Brunsman made any mention of it…"

"They did, they did. Please, do come in," she said as she stepped aside and ushered him in. "I'm Kylie Brierly, Kaitlin's sister. She and Charles have gone to Hogwarts to bring home their daughter."

"My condolences, Ms. Brierly," Harry said. "If you could show me where exactly Damien collapsed."

She led him down the hallway, and stopped in front of the doorway that led to the sitting room. "Nobody has entered here since he was taken to St. Mungos. The Auror that went with them also said not to go into D-Damien's bedroom." Her voice broke over Damien's name before she gave a sniff and collected herself. With a brave face on, she asked, "Would you like some tea, Mr. Potter?"

Though he wasn't at all thirsty, he nodded and said, "If it wouldn't be an imposition," and watched as she turned and made off into what he could see of the kitchen. Turning back towards the center of the living room, he took out his wand.

" _Homenum Revelio_."

The feedback from the spell was as Harry had expected, indicating that only he and Kylie were currently present in the house. A wave of his wand dismissed the spell, and Harry wordlessly cast another. One that would reveal what magic had occurred over the past week.

Four tiny balls of light flew from the tip of his wand, each to a corner of the sitting room. They hovered in place for a few seconds before brightening, and parchment appeared in the air front of him which he reached out to take.

He frowned at its contents before quickly recasting the spell, this time going back six months. His frown deepened as he read the new results.

Three months. That was when the first traces of dark magic had appeared in the sitting room.

A final flick of his wand and the parchment disappeared, having been sent to the tray that sat on his desk in the DMLE.

He had just cast another detection charm and was waiting for the results when Damien's parents and sister returned from Hogwarts. They stopped in the doorway and stared at the various objects around the room, from furniture to picture frames, glowed a light yellow.

"Mr. and Mrs. Brunsman," he greeted, his tone consoling as he offered his hand.

"Mr. Potter," replied Charles Brunsman, taking his hand as he and his wife and daughter huddled forward into the room.

Harry noticed Kaitlin Brunsman staring at a section of the floor, the exact place Kylie had said where Damien had collapsed, before she, too, took his hand, followed by her daughter.

"My condolences," he said as he stepped back. "I'm know how devastating losing a loved one is."

"Thank you," Charles replied.

"What are the lights for?" Marie asked suddenly as she stared around the room.

"They reveal objects that possess high levels of magic," Harry explained. "If it's yellow, it's normal; Purple indicates high traces." Looking to Charles and Kaitlin, he said, "If you'd prefer, perhaps I could speak with the two of you alone," as he shifted his gaze between the two of them. "Kylie said she was going to make tea."

Charles and Kaitlin shared a look before Charles said, "Thank you, but we don't want to exclude Marie. She deserves to know what happened to Damien."

"Very well," Harry said as he nodded in understanding. "Then I need to know if you purchased anything new towards the end of July."

"July?" Kaitlin said before her expression turned thoughtful.

"One of the charms revealed the presence of dark magic in this room," Harry said as he indicated the space around them. "The smallest reading of it seems to have been from 3 months ago, July, which was most likely due to something new being brought into the house."

"Damien's Birthday," Charles whispered and Kaitlin gasped. "It's at the end of July."

"He received gifts from family and friends," Kaitlin said. "They're all up in his room."

Harry turned to Charles, saying, "If you could show me."

Charles only nodded, his face ashen as he turned and escorted Harry upstairs to Damien's room on the second floor while Kaitlin shakily took Marie into the kitchen to join Kylie. The two men returned downstairs more than half an hour later, Harry with a heavy frown on his face.

He'd used the same diagnostic charms on the room and found that dark magic had indeed been present, but nothing in the room had shown any sign of actually possessing it. None of Damien's books or toys. At Harry's insistence, Charles had shown him all the other rooms but he had found no trace of dark magic in either of them. Only Damien's room and the sitting room were affected.

Perhaps it was on Damien when they took him to the hospital, Harry thought. It was unlikely, though, since St. Mungo's healers would have tested everything he had had on him when he'd been brought in.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he rounded the corner into the sitting room, the walls of which were now bathed in a rather ugly, dark shade of purple light. The source of the bright glow came from atop a small coffee table which appeared to have been pushed towards the side of the room. The healers had most likely moved it to make room for when they had been examining Damien.

A flick of his wand conjured a cloth and another ended the diagnostic charm, effectively cutting off the light show and revealing the small book lying on the table's surface.

Harry used the cloth to pick up the book before he turned to Charles. "What is this?" he asked, but the other only shook his head.

"That's Damien coloring journal."

Both men turned and found Kaitlin in the doorway to the kitchen, her eyes wide as she stared at the book Harry held.

"It was with the other pile of presents Damien got for his birthday," she explained. "It didn't have a card, so I just assumed that it came with another present."

Harry turned the book over and frowned at the bold inscription on the back.

 _I am the most faithful, and I will rise again._

He stared down at the words for several seconds, finding them strange for some reason. Not so much the message itself though that was a given, but more, the hand. When the realization came to him, Harry felt his blood run cold, the air seemingly frozen in his lungs as his grip on the book tightened.

He now had very little doubt in his mind as to what exactly had happened to Damien. And it explained why the morbid message on the back hadn't alerted Kaitlin or Charles when they had come across the journal.

They would have been unable to understand it because it was written in parseltongue.


	12. Chapter Eleven

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta: The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,527**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 19,399**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 _Years Ago…_

 _He sat on his throne, frowning as his followers slowly trickled out. Nothing was moving fast enough. They had come no closer to locating where the dreadful Potter brat was. He had sat through more than a few meetings where the only thing keeping him from murdering the lot of them was the fiery look that Bellatrix sent him whenever she thought he wasn't paying attention. He knew that she would gladly lay on her back for him, but he had made it clear to her that she would never be his consort. He had made her barren so that she could never let such thoughts into her mind again. Just the thought of it made his lip curl up in a deadly smirk._

 _Hearing the door shut behind the last straggler, he stood from the throne before he noticed the lone figure that remained in their chair. "Bellatrix, what is it that you want?" he asked coldly._

 _"My lord..." she started, hesitating at his obvious irritation. "As a descendent of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, when you gave me the... cup for safe keeping... I knew instantly what it was."_

 _Her words brought on an infuriated chill and he watched in satisfaction as she visibly shivered._

 _"What?" he hissed at her audacity._

 _She surged forward in fright. "In an effort to please you, I too have made—" She stopped, eyes widening in fright when he raised his wand, but then slumped slightly in relief when he only cast a silencing charm._

 _"Continue," he hissed, "but know that whether or not you live past this conversation will depend heavily on what you say next." His threat was echoed by Nagini, who had slithered over to curl around her feet._

 _"I have made a Horcrux as well, so that if I perish for the cause, I may rise again and help to defeat the—"_

 _Voldemort chuckled, and she stopped speaking, frozen in fear. "You've split your soul to please me?"_

 _She pulled a book out, and placed it gently on the table in front of him. "Yes, my lord, so that I may serve you, even after my death."_

 _He picked up the book, and instantly felt what it was. He had, after all, created several of his own. "And whom, pray tell, did you kill to create this?"_

 _"The mudblood that married my sister."_

Chapter Eleven

Hermione was nervous, she didn't know if she was ready for this. Severus however was at her side, and reached over to grab her hand. "Darling, I'm sure the baby is fine. We'll just be in for a few scans, then collect your vitamin potions and get a copy of the ultrasound to show everybody."

Hermione ran her free hand over her stomach gently. "I know, I just can't help but worry that something is going to go wrong."

"Of course something is wrong," Severus replied, and she looked up at his face having heard the sneer in his voice. She raised an eyebrow in question and saw his mouth pull up at the corners, forming a smile.

Severus pulled her against him and leaned forward until his lips were a breaths distance away from her ear. "What's wrong is that instead of being able to bring you back to our quarters and having my wicked way with you, you will be out with Harry and Ron."

She shivered against him. "I have to go to find out what Harry is so concerned about. That letter sounded pretty urgent."

Severus let out a heavy sigh. "It's almost time, we wouldn't want to be late to our first appointment now would we?" he said, grabbing her hand as they made for the door.

"No, but… I just have a feeling that something bad is going to happen today."

They left the room and began their journey through the castle before Severus said, "If you'd like, I could join you—I promise to stay out of the way."

Hermione frowned at that as she thought back to Harry's letter. He'd written that it would be best if she came alone.

She forced a smile on her face, and leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked. "No, you're right, I'm worrying over nothing."

'At least I hope so,' she thought to herself.

~St. Mungo's~

"Hello, I'm Healer Kaylee," was the first thing the female physician that had entered the examination room said. "I'll be overseeing your pregnancy and birth."

Kaylee held her hand out towards Hermione. "You must be Mrs. Snape, it's lovely to meet you." After Hermione shook her hand, she extended it out to Severus. "And it's nice to see you again, Severus." At Hermione's questioning gaze, she said, "We've corresponded a few times when I've had to commission some extra potions for the department."

"Yes, I do recall," Severus replied as he took Hermione's hand.

Kaylee took that as a signal to begin, and so reached into her sleeve and brought out her wand. "I'm sure you both already know this, but for the sake of professionalism, I'll explain anyway," said Kaylee, before she began to give both of them a run-down of what more was expected to happen during Hermione's pregnancy. All the while her wand waved harmlessly through the air, various flickers of lights appearing and disappearing, and she noted the results of the charms on a conjured chart.

"Everything looks good," she said almost ten minutes later. "Both you and your baby are healthy. Your date of conception was on the 26th of August, which would put the due date at May 28th. All that's left now is your ultrasound and your prescription for your pre-natal potions." Kaylee turned to Severus. "I'm assuming you'd like to prepare the potions yourself, Severus?"

He nodded. "I would."

"Then I'll give you the proper references. Just give me a moment," said Kaylee as she moved towards the cabinets against the side of the room.

As Kaylee bustled around for the literature, Hermione felt Severus squeeze her hand in reassurance. She'd been on edge the moment Kaylee had mentioned the due date, and knew that Severus, too, had recognized its significance.

Her bad feeling from earlier in the day intensified, though Hermione hoped that it was merely a coincidence that the due date for the baby coincided closely with the anniversary of the final battle.

* * *

Ron watched anxiously from the couch as Harry paced around the sitting room in silence. He'd been the first to arrive at Harry and Ginny's place, and when he had asked about what was going on, Harry had simply said to wait until Hermione arrived.

He sighed in relief as he heard the knocking on the door. 'Finally,' he thought as Harry went to answer it, before he returned to the sitting room with Hermione behind him.

"Ron," Hermione nodded as she greeted him, before she took a seat next to him on the couch whilst Harry took his seat on the couch across from there's, the coffee table between them. As he and Hermione waited, Harry reached into his pocket and brought out a small black book and placed it on the table.

"I've already gotten permission from Kingsley to let the two of you in on the case." Harry let out a heavy sigh. "I dread what she could be planning."

"What who could be planning?" Hermione asked as she looked from the book to Harry. At his indication, she picked it up and began slipping through the pages. Ron saw her brows furrow before she closed it.

"What is this about?" he asked as he took the book from her and did the same. He frowned when he found that all the pages were empty. There wasn't a smudge of anything on any of them. Shutting it, his eyes were immediately drawn to the swirls at the bottom of the back cover. "Is this parseltongue?" He sensed more than saw Hermione look at him. "It looks kind of like the scribbles on the door down in the Chamber."

"It is," Harry answered. "It reads 'I am the most faithful, and I will rise again'." He waved at the book Ron held. "That was found at the Brunsmans' house."

From beside him, Hermione had frozen in place.

"The Brunsmans told me that it was Damien's," Harry continued. "It's also the source of the dark magic that was present in the house."

"He was using dark magic?" Ron asked. "But he was just a child."

Harry shook his head. "Neither Damien or his parents knew what it was. His mother said he'd received it as a gift on his birthday. Kingsley and the department are doing everything they can, and they've already managed to find traces of a magic on the horcrux, though they haven't been able to match it up to any known signature."

Silence followed his explanation, and Ron knew that if he could see himself at that moment, his freckles would be standing out against his ashen face. Hermione's reaction was no better, her shocked exclamation seemingly turning the atmosphere several degrees colder.

"HORCRUX!?"


	13. Chapter Twelve

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **Beta: The ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,479**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 20,878**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 **Chapter Twelve**

There was a knock on the door. In the sitting room, Meissa turned and gave Rodolphus' hand a gentle squeeze before she stood and went to answer it.

"Harry," she greeted as she saw him standing on the doorstep. "Rodolphus is in the sitting room." At the same time she noticed the three other men behind him before she ushered them into the house.

Harry had made mention of the them in the letter that he had sent to her and Rodolphus earlier in the week, and that he would be bringing them along to clear Rodolphus' name. They were the Minister of Magic, Patrick Jergens, and the heads of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and St. Mungo's, Kinglsey Shacklebolt and Carlos Santiago, respectively.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances," Rodolphus said after they'd all convened into the sitting room and the introductions had been made. "Nevertheless, I am grateful that you all would be willing to help clear this up. And, no doubt, this opportunity would not have existed at all without the help of Mr. Potter." He raised a hand when Harry made to speak. "No, Mr. Potter, I want to thank you, and despite how this all turns out, I will be forever grateful that you gave me this chance to be a father to Hermione."

Harry blushed at his words, which caused Kinsley to grin before the Head Auror said, "Let's get this started then, eh?"

* * *

"Hello, class," Hermione said as the last of her students had taken their seats. "Today, we are going to be learning about Red Caps." A tap of her wand on the black board and the name appeared. "Now, the first question: What exactly is a Red Cap?"

"Professor Snape, they are—"

"Miss Palmer, we've talked about this. One point from Ravenclaw for not raising your hand," she said to the young Ravenclaw before her gazed shifted to the back of the room. "Yes, Mr. Parkinson?"

" **A Red Cap is a small dwarf-like creature that lives where blood has been shed** ," Darren replied, smirking at Palmer.

"Correct, two points to Slytherin." Hermione tapped the board and the text and illustration of Darren's description appeared. "Miss Palmer, can you give me some examples of places that a Red Cap might call home?"

" **Dungeons of castles, the potholes of old battlefields, or simply in holes underground** ," she replied.

Hermione tapped her wand on the board again. "Correct, two points to Ravenclaw." She turned to the Gryffindor portion of the room. "I want everyone to open their books to page to page 34, and Mr. Carson, I would like you to read the first paragraph and then chose a person to read the next."

* * *

Draco sat on the end of the couch reading a text book while Ron lay with his head on his lap, the redhead's feet propped up on the other end.

"How do you think your parents will react to our relationship?" Ron asked.

Draco looked down at him. "They'll be shocked, but I don't think that they'll be too upset. Since the war they have laid off me a fair bit. They're not as particular about marriage as they were before." Draco twined their fingers together as he finished and watched as Ron blushed.

He looked up and met Draco's eyes. "Do you see us getting married?"

Draco closed his book and sat it down coffee table, before he brought both his hands and caressed Ron's face. "Can I see myself waking up beside you for the rest of my life?" he asked, huskily. "Can I see us sitting on a bench while we watch our children running around?" Draco leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ron's forehead. "Absolutely."

"Children?" Ron asked as his gaze turned considering. "You've thought about that for us?"

Draco's hand stilled for a moment. "I'm sorry, if you think I'm moving to fast—" He stopped when Ron suddenly sat up.

"I love you," Ron said before he pressed his lips against Draco's in a kiss. Draco felt his arms come around his neck as the kiss deepened.

When breathing became difficult, Draco leaned his head back. "Oh, I love you too, my Weasel."

Ron snorted before he shifted until he was straddling him. "Ferret?"

"Yes?"

"Will you—can we—youwanavex?" Ron asked, his speech coming out in a rush.

Draco frowned. "Come again?"

"Do you want to have sex?" Ron repeated slowly, before dropping his gaze as another heavy blush colored his face.

"No," Draco replied, and then he grabbed onto Ron's hips when the redhead tried to move away. "But I will gladly make love to you," he finished before he stood and, all the while keeping a steady hold on the others hips, carried him to the bedroom.

"So romantic," Ron muttered as Draco slammed the bedroom door shut behind them.

* * *

"He made no mention of what this was about?" Severus asked, but Hermione only shook her head at his question. "Do you think it has anything to do with the other letter he sent you?"

"No, he would have said so," Hermione said as she thought back to the conversation at Harry's place, and the subsequent oath of secrecy that she and Ron had sworn to.

When Severus had asked her about it, her simple reply had been that Harry was handling the situation, and that he'd be informed about it in due time. He might have already guessed that she was under an oath, because he had not asked her any more questions about her visit to Harry's place.

"Are you ready to go?" she inquired after she had pulled on her jacket.

Severus nodded and held out his arm for hers, before they exited their quarters and made their way down towards the Entrance Hall. They would be apparating to Harry's place, as Harry had been adamant in his letter that they were not to use the Floo Network.

Exiting through the large oak doors into the quadrangle, she and Severus then made their way towards the bridge. It didn't take long for them to reach the end and, upon exiting the wards, they Side-Along Apparated to the edge of Harry's property.

They made their way up to the front door where Hermione didn't waste any time and raised her hand and knocked. They didn't have to wait long before Harry opened it and quickly ushered them in.

"What is this about, Harry?" Hermione asked after they'd settled into the kitchen instead of the sitting room. "Your letter was very vague."

"It's about your father," Harry said and Hermione blinked at him in shock.

"What?"

"I've had Carlos Santiago, Kingsley, and Jergens here over the last few days to clear him of the charges against him."

"Jergens and Santiago… and Kingsley?" Severus said, frowning when Harry nodded. "You needed the Minister of Magic himself and two department heads to clear her father's name? A bit much, isn't it?"

"Not for this." Harry shook his head. "It would have eventually come under their purview once it was made public."

"Wait. Public?" Hermione asked. "You mean it's going to be in the papers!?"

Harry sighed. "They're running the story tomorrow. Front page." Hermione gaped at him. "So this is the only time left to hear the truth directly from your parents before the Prophet prints it."

"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think," Hermione hissed, lightly. Before she could say anything more though, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching and saw a familiar face peek around the corner from the sitting room. "Meissa."

"Hermione," she gushed as she approached. "I'm so happy to see you again. You're simply glowing."

"Thank you," Hermione said, blushing.

"And, Severus," Meissa said as she turned to Severus and held out her hand in greeting, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I've only ever seen you in the wedding photos."

"A pleasure meeting you as well, Meissa," he replied as he took her hand.

"Shall we move into the sitting room?" Harry said as he looked between the three of them. Hermione looked at Severus as she grabbed his hand before she nodded.

Harry and Meissa led them into the sitting room, and Hermione had barely caught a glimpse of the tall figure waiting in the room before she was suddenly pulled behind Severus, the movement causing her to gasp in surprise. "Severus, what—"

"YOU!" he snarled, pulling his wand out.

Curious, Hermione peeked around him, and felt her jaw drop as she recognized the man standing in the sitting room. "Y-you!?"

Cautiously, the man looked between Severus and Hermione, before his gaze settled on her face.

"Hello, Hermione. I'm Rodolphus Lestrange," he introduced, slowly, and then, after a couple of beats of silence, "… I'm your father."

 **Thoughts?**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,574**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 22,452**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 **Chapter Thirteen**

Ron woke to find himself with his head on Draco's naked chest, and their legs twined together. Draco was running his fingers up and down Ron's back in a light caress. Ron sighed, as he raised his arms in a stretch. "Love you," he muttered as he pressed his lips lightly against Draco's chest.

"And I you." He returned, neither of them making any motion to move, until of course there was the familiar sound of an owl pecking on the window.

"Bloody hell." Ron growled, standing up, and walking over to the window, not paying attention to the fact that he was naked. He opened the window to let the owl in, and then grabbed the paper from it's leg once it was extended. He offered it a treat, which it accepted before flying out the window. Draco looked up from his arse when he saw Ron tense.

"What's wrong?"

Ron turned around, and faced the headline towards his lover. "We need to go to Hogwarts."

 **FORMER DEATH EATER RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES**

 **FOUND TO BE THE FATHER OF BRIGHTEST WITCH OF HER AGE**

 **HERMIONE SNAPE**

 **MOTHER IS DISOWNED SQUIB OF THE HOUSE OF BLACK**

* * *

Despite telling herself otherwise, Hermione was not prepared for the silence that descended on the Great Hall at her entrance. Thankfully it was a Saturday, so she wouldn't have to deal with questions all throughout her days classes. The whispers began when she and Severus were about halfway to the head table. She felt sorry for Severus, as she knew her hand was close to cutting off circulation in his. They made it to the head table and took their seats before there was an uproar of noise. She had just begun eating when Severus stiffened. "Someone just floo'd into our quarters." And then after another moment, "two someones just floo'd into our quarters."

Hermione looked up from at her plate of food that she had no desire to eat and smiled at him. "Well, let's not keep them waiting." They stood as one and moved towards the side exit that the professors used. They walked to their quarters quickly and opened the doors to an argument.

"We need to go find 'Mione Drake."

"If I know my godfather as well as I think I do, then he has wards that would alert him of the floo activating when he's not here. A topic as sensitive as this is, it would be better to have this discussion in their chambers where students won't be able to eavesdrop and use it as fodder for gossip."

Ron opened his mouth, and closed it a few times, before embracing him. "Thank you for caring so much about my friends."

"I hardly think I'm just your friend Ron," Hermione said, smirking when they both jumped. "I've told Draco on several occasions that we're friends."

Severus raised the wards behind them, to protect them from exactly what Draco had predicted, as Ron pulled Hermione into a hug. "Have you seen the papers?"

She nodded. "Yes, I've seen them, and I've met Rodolphus. Harry is the one who's been working so hard to clear him."

"Why didn't you guys mention this to me?" Ron asked, stepping away from her.

"I didn't know until last night. Harry had me and Severus over to his flat and ambushed us with it." She saw the earliest warning sign of Ron's temper show. "He said he tried to floo you but left when he heard the noises coming from the bedroom."

Both Ron and Draco blushed. "I told you I heard something." Draco murmured, turning to Ron and raising an eyebrow.

Ron huffed, "Well excuse me for not noticing while.. while…" he stuttered for a moment trying to make an excuse without revealing details, "I was distracted!" He snapped, before turning to Hermione, "how did meeting him go?"

She turned to Severus, "would you get a pot of tea darling?"

"Certainly, I'll have Pipsy bring you some toast with that apricot butter that you've been eating lately." He replied, moving into the kitchen.

"Thank you," she called after him, before sitting down and motioning Draco and Ron to do the same. "It was awkward to say the least. I still don't know what to think of them. I mean, after meeting Meissa, it's undeniable that she is my mother. We look so alike. She seemed so hurt when I wouldn't call her mum, I was tempted to call her that even though.." She drifted off. "You and Harry know how I feel Ron. I've spent so long thinking… knowing that my birth parents didn't want me. It's been so difficult these last couple months trying to come to terms with the fact that they do." She stood up and began pacing. "And then last night, Harry hands me this paper from St. Mungo's that listed all of the charms and potions that Rodolphus has been under. It was extensive. Loyalty charms, behavioral potions, even a lust potion tied to Bellatrix."

Draco's brow crinkled. "But those kinds of things only show while the charm is active. It's been over a year since the final battle."

"But because of the amount of time he was under the potions and spells, there were still remnants of them in his system. And the charms were darker in nature, so those stayed active, fueling off of his own core."

Severus came back and sat the tray down, pouring them each a glass of tea. "We didn't stay long, they seemed very disappointed when we went to leave. I could tell that Rodolphus wasn't entirely pleased that I was married to his daughter."

Hermione turned to him, "even if my mum and dad had a problem with us being together, without the law, I would not let their opinions stop me from marrying the man that I love."

There was a pecking against the window, and Hermione got up to let the owl in, all business the owl held out her leg, and Hermione had just taken the letter before it flew away. The men, who had continued the conversation as she walked to the window, were interrupted by her ecstatic squeal. "What is it?" Severus asked.

"HARRY AND GINNY SET THE DATE!" She squealed again.

* * *

"Travers, did you bring the paper?" A husky female voice asked, holding a hand out, with sharpened nails painted black.

"Yes I did my Lady." He replied holding out the paper. "I'm sure that it will mean a lot for you to read today's edition."

He leaned back in his arm chair that sat next to the couch. After she had appeared, he brought her to his flat so that she could recuperate and plan. He wanted her, so much, and after he had read the paper this morning he hoped that realizing that her husband had to have cheated on her to father the mudblood, would tip her over the edge, and into his bed. "What does this mean, 'Disowned Squib of the House of Black'?" She asked coldly, throwing the paper away.

"I do not know, I tried asking around to see if anybody knew her name, or even which line of the house of Black she was from, but nobody knew anything."

"You didn't raise suspicion did you?"

"No, I know how important it is that our plans remain in the dark." He replied adamantly.

Bellatrix's ruby red lips turned up into a sultry smile as she leaned forward. "Good, otherwise I'd have to remind you what would happen if it was revealed too soon."

* * *

Hermione stood in front of the full length mirror. "I'm getting fat."

"You're not fat. You will not be fat. You are carrying our child; any weight you gain will simply be because our child is growing."

"I love you Sev. I'm sorry we fought the other day."

"I wish I knew what it is that you're keeping from me, but I know you have a good reason for doing so. I just hope that you'll feel comfortable telling me before I find out some other way." He replied, setting his book on the night stand.

"We have a very good reason for keeping this secret."

Severus had a niggling feeling about this. "Is this anything like what the three of you were doing during what should have been your seventh year?"

It took everything in her not to visibly react to his words. "No, it's nothing so serious as that. Trust me Severus, I'll tell you when I think it's something that you need to know."

* * *

 _The sickly green curse flew through the air, and Bellatrix's insane cackle followed it as it drove towards Ginny. "NO! GINNY!" He yelled, running towards them. Ginny dropped to the floor, and a little toddler walked into the room._

" _MOMMY!"_

" _GINNY!" The scene was getting darker, like it was fading away the faster he ran._

Harry sat up gasping for breath, frantically searching the bed beside him until his hand met Ginny's waist. "Harry?" She asked groggily, "what's wrong?"

"Bella.. she was… going to get you."

"Harry,, Bellatrix is dead.. she can't hurt anyone else anymore." She replied, pushing him so he was laying on his back, and put her head against his chest. "Besides, even if she wasn't dead, I'd kill her myself if she ruined our wedding."

 **I will update with the Beta-d Chapter when I get it back from Aimless.**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 1,878**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 24,330**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 **Chapter Fourteen**

Hermione looked over her seventh year class as they shuffled into the room, stomach covered by shield charms that Severus insisted on layering her with for anything above third year. After the last one entered she waved her wand at the door, making it close gently. "Welcome again class, now if you've read the reading from Monday, who would like to take a guess about what we are speaking of today?" She asked, smiling at them, despite the topic of the days' lesson. A dainty hand rose from the Slytherin side of the room. "Yes Miss Greengrass?"

"We'll be talking about Inferi right?"

"Correct, 1 point to Slytherin." Hermione replied, tapping her wand on the blackboard, making, _**Inferius (plural: Inferi)**_ appear. "Now, can anybody tell me how an inferius is made?" Several hands raised. "Yes Mr. Caractacus."

"Necromancers?"

"Well, I suppose that they could be called that, though most creators of inferi are just called dark wizards or witches. Necromancy is a small branch of dark magic, and some even deny its validity. But yes, necromancer can technically be considered the correct term." There was a light scratching of quills as Hermione waved her wand at the board, making text appear.

 _ **In 1899, it was mentioned that the dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, sought to create an army of Inferi, and believed that the Resurrection Stone could grant him such powers. It is unknown as to whether he succeeded, though his conception on the stone's abilities were in fact incorrect, as it brings back souls from the realm of the dead as more-than-ghost but less-than-alive state, not as a living body.**_

"Does anybody know who was proven to have created an army of inferi?" Hermione asked. A Ravenclaw raised her dainty hand. "Yes, Miss Reid?"

"He-Who-Mus-."

"Miss Reid, I'm going to stop you right there," Hermione said, before addressing the entire class. "I know that the war is still very fresh in many of our minds. Some of our families will never be the same. But I will not accept Voldemort to be called anything else. No Dark Lord, no He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and certainly no You-Know-Who. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. If you must reference him, call him Voldemort. We have no reason to be afraid of him anymore."

* * *

Harry trudged up the steps to the snowy white building, glancing nervously at the two goblin guards that stood on each side of the bronze double doors. He knew that through those, there was a little entrance hall that had a set of silver doors, upon which was the riddle that had enthralled him when he was merely 11. He was concerned about how this meeting was going to go. After the war, he did have a series of meetings with them, but the cost they had decided upon to repair the damages was covered by the ministry, in thanks for him defeating Voldemort.

When he had taken Rodolphus to , in disguise of course, they had been required to have a goblin there to perform some tests.

 _Harry walked side by side with Rodolphus, who was polyjuiced to look like a muggle who lived down the street from he and Meissa. "Just let me do the talking." He muttered to the ex-con._

 _Harry didn't have to look at him to know the man nodded. "Mr. Potter it's a pleasure to see you!"_

 _The duo approached the man who stood at the end of the hall in healer robes. "Hello Healer Link, this is the patient I spoke to you about."_

 _The healer motioned them into his office, shutting it behind them as they entered. "Please Mr. Potter, call me Ralph."_

" _Okay Ralph, but you should call me Harry, Mr. Potter makes me feel like I'm in trouble." Harry replied with a grin, sitting down in one of the chairs across from the desk._

" _I'd be honored Harry." He replied sitting down in his chair. "Now, would I be understanding your letters correctly when I say that you still cannot tell me the identity of your friend here?"_

" _You would, and I know that it might make things a bit difficult."_

 _The healer interrupted. "No, it doesn't make things difficult at all. We'll just need to get a goblin who can check for any enchantments he may have on him, as the spells we have must be modified for things like age, height, and weight. The Goblins also have a blood test that will show anything that had been taken orally, as well as another test that will check a persons magical core."_

" _Okay, but when you call them, you will make sure that they are being called under the strictest confidences."_

The goblin who had introduced himself as Lord Hrothgar had pulled him aside and arranged for him to come and meet with his account manager at his earliest convenience. Harry walked into the bank, nodding at the two guards, walking through the small entrance hall, and then through the set of silver doors before entering the large chamber. Some of the goblins at the counters glanced at him warily, but he just walked up to where he saw Lord Blackclaw. "Hello Lord Blackclaw."

"Greetings Mr. Potter. I shall inform Griphook that you are here."

Harry frowned, "Griphook is my account manager?"

"Yes, would that be a problem?"

"Yes it would. I understand that even your noble race was under great duress in the war. But Griphook double crossed us when we were on an important mission to defeat Voldemort, and I'd prefer he not be in charge of my account."

The hall had gone silent around them, and Lord Blackclaw gave him a long look. "Do you have any particular replacement in mind?"

"Erm.. I don't know many goblins. I mean, besides Griphook, the only I know by name is yourself. I'm sure that you're very busy so-."

"It would be an honor to become your account manager. If you would follow me into my office, I will get the appropriate documents for the transferring of managers, and the information that I mentioned to you at your friends' appointment."

* * *

Ginny was surprised when she arrived at Harrys flat to find him gone. She had just sat down on the sofa, and opened her quidditch magazine when he finally appeared. "Gin, do you want to go see my house with me? I just came from Gringotts, and if the photos are recent then I think that it would be the perfect venue for our wedding. I remember that you said you weren't sure if we'd be able to accommodate all of the people in the gardens at the burrow."

"You bought a house?" She asked incredulously. "Without say-."

"No love, I didn't buy a house. My meeting at Gringotts was with my account manager. I wasn't able to get a full accounting of the Potter vaults when I became 17, because of Voldemort. But when I took Rodolphus to St. Mungos the goblin they called mentioned that I should attend a meeting with the Potter account manager. Well I did, and apparently besides the house in Godrics Hollow, my parents, and the family had another house in Belgium, and a Manor that is about the same district as the Malfoys."

"The Malfoys would be our neighbors?"

"Not only the Malfoys, but many of the remnants of the sacred 28. Potters were pureblood, they just weren't considered one of the sacred 28 because it was surmised that we have muggle ancestry. That and Potter is a fairly common muggle name. But apparently there is a manor on the far side of Wiltshire, that was given to the Potters when my grandfather married Dorea Black, and I was wondering if you would like to go see it with me?"

"Of course, we're getting married in just over a week. If we're to live there then I need to see it."

Harry wrapped her in his arms. "Hold on tight love." He whispered to her before twisting them away. When they appeared, they were staring at a cast iron gate that had ivy twined around it. They turned together to glance up at the manor and both of their jaws dropped. "Bloody hell." The large house looked like something out of a fairy tale.

"Did they say how many bedrooms it has?" Ginny asked, breathless as she looked around at the beautiful gardens that were obviously well maintained.

"Seventeen. I know Hermione won't like it, but there is a small crew of House Elves who have worked for the family for generations." Harry led the way up to the door, which opened upon their approach. Stepping into the entrance hall, they were again, stunned. A small pop alerted them to the arrival of a house elf.

"Are yous beings our new master?"

"Yes, but please just call me Harry. What is your name?"

"I's be Sandy. I'm the head elf Harrys sir. We wanted to say we're glad that you've come home."

* * *

The Great Hall looked better than ever. There were real bats flying around the ceiling, with charms to stop the guano from hitting the people who sat beneath them. There were floating jack-o-lanterns that were leveled at about 15 feet above the tables, and some that sat sporadically around the tables. Hermione turned to Severus to find him staring at her. "What?"

"Next year, at this time, we'll have our child with us, I'm sure the soon to be Potters will be well on their way to having a baby, and if everything Draco wants goes according to plan your friend Ronald will be married. I'm just thinking about how I never believed any of this would be possible nine years ago, and how honored I am that you've granted me the privilege to call you my wife."

Hermione burst into tears before wrapping her arms around his neck and crying into his chest, causing Minerva to turn to them. "Severus, what is wrong with Hermione?"

Hermione heard and turned to the Headmistress. "He keeps saying all this sweet stuff to me, and it keeps making me cry because I love him so much, and I can't wait until our baby gets here and we can be a family together." Her lip began to wobble, and tears began leaking from her eyes again. "And he cares about my friends." She cried, not quite a yell, but loud enough to attract the attention of the students who sat closest to the teachers table.

"Are you pregnant?" Professor Sprout asked from the other side of Severus.

"Are you calling me fat?" Hermione asked, before crying into Severus's chest again. He looked at Pomona apologetically.

"Yes," he confirmed to Pomona. "We are expecting our first child."

* * *

Draco exited the floo, and saw his parents sitting in their usual spots by the hearth. "Mother, Father, I have some news to tell you."

Lucius sat his book down, "what is it my son?"

His mother gave him an encouraging smile. "Yes, what is it Draco dear."

After all the time he had spent planning what he was going to say, running through pros and cons of each option, he was overcome with word vomit, and blurted it out. "I'm gay."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous J.K. Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,135**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 26,465**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

* * *

 _Previously: Draco exited the floo, and saw his parents sitting in their usual spots by the hearth. "Mother, Father, I have some news to tell you."_

 _Lucius sat his book down, "what is it my son?"_

 _His mother gave him an encouraging smile. "Yes, what is it Draco dear."_

 _After all the time he had spent planning what he was going to say, running through pros and cons of each option, he was overcome with word vomit, and blurted it out. "I'm gay."_

* * *

The silence following his admission came with a tension that could be cut with a knife. Draco stood frozen as his parents shared a glance. "That wasn't how I meant to say that," he said awkwardly. The tension seemed to build and Draco could see his mother's face twitching, before a noise left his father that could only be called a chuckle. After the first chuckle his mother began laughing out loud, and soon after his father joined in. "I'm being serious!" He cried indignantly.

"I won!" Narcissa laughed, holding her hand out to her husband.

Lucius pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket, and grudgingly handed it to his wife. When he caught the stricken look on his sons face he smirked. "Your mother and I had a bet going about when you would finally tell us."

"You knew?" He asked, not noticing how his voice had risen an octave.

"Draco darling, how could we not?" His mother asked.

"How long have you known? How did you find out?"

Lucius's dark chuckle just made it worse. "We've probably known since you were about five."

"Five?" Draco shrieked. "That's blasphemous. I didn't know myself until that bloody marriage law."

Narcissa turned to Lucius. "What was it again that raised suspicion my love?"

"I believe the earliest thing that I remember was the suit."

"What suit?" Draco interrupted.

"We had passed by some muggleborns parents in Diagon Alley and your mother and I didn't know you'd stopped. But suddenly we heard your voice berating the man for wearing such a low quality suit." Lucius replied, amidst his chuckling.

"So you thought I was gay because even that young I had a high sense of fashion?"

"No it was because you told the man that at least the pants he was wearing made his bum look good." Draco couldn't recall his face ever feeling more warm.

"So who is he?" his Mum asked, picking her glass of tea back up and taking a sip.

"Who is who?"

"Who is the man who stole your heart, and made you feel comfortable enough to finally tell us?"

"If his wedding weren't tomorrow I'd say it were Potter," his father said. "You always did go on and on about him."

"POTTER?" Draco yelled.

His mother chuckled. "Come on Draco, tell us."

Draco's blush deepened. "Aren't you mad?" He asked, sitting down in the other chair and sitting his head on his hands and elbows on his knees.

"Why would we be mad darling?"

"Because I'm in love with Ronald Weasley." He deadpanned.

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Harry stood with Ron in the greenhouse right off the gardens where all of the men had been getting ready. "Oh merlin Ron, what if she changes her mind?" He asked, near hysterics.

Hermione entered through a side door and approached them, Severus perking up at the sight of her. "Harry, she isn't going to change her mind. In fact, Ginny sent me in here to make sure you weren't going to change yours."

"But 'Mion-." He began again, and Ron just smiled as Hermione interrupted him.

"Ginny has been in love with you for far longer than you've returned her feelings. She is going to walk down the aisle towards you, and you two will live happily ever after." She smiled at him, and patted his face in a comforting gesture. "You just make sure that you're standing there at the altar when she walks around the hedges."

Harry pulled her into a hug, being careful not to squeeze too tight, overly cautious of the slight bump that she was showing through the fabric dress. He looked between her and Ron once he pulled away. "I don't know what I would have done without you two. I never would have made it this far." He then turned to Ron. "Remember my seventeenth birthday mate?"

"Yeah," he replied, a light blush on his face. "I remember yelling at you for messing her around."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "When you were yelling at me I got this image in my head of Ginny standing at the altar with some faceless man beside her. I never thought.. I wasn't expecting… I didn't think that I would live to see the end of the war even… and yet here I am, about to marry the girl of my dreams." The three of them hugged one final time, and Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm glad that we cast a waterproof charm on the make up." She muttered more to herself than them. "I have to go and help Ginny finish getting ready, this is so exciting." She said, before turning to Ron. "You're next Ron, and I believe that your wedding will be just as perfect as this."

Ron blushed heavily at that. "Draco... he mentioned a few weeks ago that he could see us getting married... and having children." He said quietly as he looked between the two of them. "I never thought that I would fall in love with Malfoy."

Harry grinned again. "Is that why you were so worried about telling me who you were dating? Because you thought I'd be angry that the person treating you so well is Draco?"

Hermione looked between the two of them, smiling. "I really must be getting back, but I'll see you two soon."

The last thing Hermione heard from them as she walked out the door was Ron's tentative, "You aren't mad that it's Malfoy?" Hermione made sure to say hello to Neville loud enough to alert them to his approach.

* * *

 ** _BOY-WHO-LIVED MARRIES HOGWARTS SWEETHEART_**

 ** _By Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet: Olivia Newhart._**

 ** _Photos by: Steven Dymoore_**

 ** _November 13, 1999_**

 _I had the special privilege, nay, the honor to receive an invite to Our Savior Harry Potter's wedding to his Hogwarts Sweetheart, and his best friend's sister, Ginevra Weasley. I arrived on location via a portkey that came with the invite, and I was speechless at the beautiful Manor that lay before me. I was lead through the expansive gardens to where the wedding took and was seated near the front of the gathering, about 4 rows back on the aisle._

 _I spent the time before the ceremony began gazing at the scenery, trying to glean any detail of where we, the other guests and I, were. There was a light murmur when the Officiate and the groomsmen (Harry Potter, best man Ronald Weasley, Severus Snape, and Neville Longbottom) arrived at the front, shortly followed by soft music announcing the arrival of the bridal party. Leading the procession was the toddling ring bearer Teddy Lupin,, Harry Potter's godson, and Victoire Weasley, daughter of Bill and Fleur Weasley. Shortly after them was the bride's cousin Araya Weasley as one of the bridesmaids. When the other bridesmaid, Luna Lovegood stepped into sight, the crowd was silenced, she looked stunning in her emerald green dress, which seemed to glow as the light shone off of her pale hair. Following Ms. Lovegood was the maid of honor, a married lady herself, and one third of the 'Golden Trio', Hermione Snape (nee Granger).._

 _The music trilled into the bridal march as the soon to be Mrs. Potter walked around the wall of shrubbery, stunning the audience into silence at her beauty. Her red hair was pinned atop her head in a beautiful updo, as her white gown flowed around her. I only took a short glance at her, before I turned to see my personal favorite part of any wedding. The expression on Harry Potters face when he caught sight of her was enough to make every woman in the room jealous. Awe and Euphoria are but two words that come the closest to describing how he looked at his bride as she walked towards him down the aisle, on her father's arm._

 _To all of my readers out there, I hope you find someone who will look at you like Harry looked at Ginny._

* * *

"Joining you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Potter." There was a loud cheering as Ginny and Harry walked into the room, both grinning like mad. The photographer that had come with the reporter from the prophet snapped a couple of photos of their entry before lowering the camera and applauding as well.

When they got to their seats Harry pressed his wand against his throat. "Gin and I would like to thank you all for joining us today, and we hope you have a lovely time." Harry pulled Ginny's seat out for her and helped her get situated before sitting himself. Ron caught sight of Draco where he sat near the back with a few of the people they'd gone to school with. He knew that they couldn't get too close in front of all these people. Their families deserved to know before the public.

Draco had mentioned something the last time he'd been over about talking to his parents, but Ron wasn't for sure if he'd acted on it or not. Since he hadn't gotten any howlers in the mail about it, he doubted it. When Draco looked up and met his eyes he offered him a small smile before turning away. Ron looked around and saw that everybody had taken their seats, so he stood up and tapped on his glass to get them to quiet down. ' _I hate public speaking_ ' was the thought that went through his head as everyone turned to stare at him. "Harry and I have been friends since the first time we met on the Hogwarts Express. He is the bravest, most noble, most honorable git that I've ever met." There were a few chuckles. "Ginny was always fascinated with stories about him when she was younger. Some of them were from the media and the text books. Others from our parents who had been friends with Harry's parents, and had known him as a baby. When Harry and Ginny first started dating back in out sixth year I didn't know quite what to think. I mean I didn't know he liked her back until he kissed her in the common room after she'd won us the Quidditch cup." There was a smattering of laughter. "I think under different circumstances I and our brothers would have to threaten our sisters fiancé that if he ever hurt her we'd kill him. But we all know that Harry would rather be hurting himself, than hurt someone that he loves. So to my best friend, and my favorite sister-." Ron began, raising his glass.

"You git, I'm your only sister." Ginny said, trying not to get emotional.

"May you have every happiness that life can allow."

Harry stood and hugged Ron tightly, before sitting down as Hermione stood up. "Anyone that went to school with us can probably remember that the three of us didn't get along very well at first." Her eyes were glittering as she smiled at her friends. "But it's amazing what a troll can do. When Ginny began at Hogwarts she and I met because I was friends with Ron, but then she and I became friends as well. At one point she spoke to me about Harry not noticing her, and I gave her some advice that seems to have worked out pretty well. I told her to be herself, to date other boys, to build up the courage to not feel the need to run from the room when he entered." Ginny blushed lightly. Hermione looked between the two of them. "They weren't dating for very long in school before we all lost someone who meant a great deal to us, and Harry felt the need to protect her, and they split up." Ginny was holding Harry's hand. "Even with a reason like Harry had, most couples wouldn't have gotten past that. But Harry and Ginny made it past that, and have come out stronger than ever." Hermione raised her glass. "To Harry and Ginny, one of the strongest couples that I have ever had the immense pleasure of knowing."

* * *

Bella looked around the abandoned warehouse she had decided that their plans would play out in. There was so much to be done. The suite of offices on one end would be perfect to keep _her_ in, and they would be able to see anybody coming if Travers were to fail at being covert. Snorting, Bella almost expected that to happen. He was an imbecile, who fancied himself in love with her. She'd seen the moony eyed look he gives her. She was surprised he hadn't tried to make a move on her as of yet. As her eyes fell upon a long bit of rope that had been left coiled on the floor she smirked. This place would work out perfectly.

* * *

 _ **Sorry it was so late. I feel like a jerk. I am going to stop waiting on a response from Aimless. I hope that wherever he is, and whatever he is doing, that he is happy. But it's been several months now and I still haven't had a single message from him.**_


	17. Chapter Sixteen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,348**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 28,813**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

By the time Christmas break had begun Hermione and Severus had been over to Malfoy Manor and had dinner with Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, and Ron. After everything that had happened Ron and Draco had said that they weren't quite ready for the Weasleys to know yet. _"I just don't know how they'll take it." Ron supplied, looking awkwardly at his food. "Dad and Mr. Malfoy have always fought, and Mum hasn't ever had any nice things to say about either of them."_

" _Call me Lucius Mr. Weasley. If you're going to be dating my son, then we should be on a first name basis."_

 _Ron turned a little red. "Then please call me Ron Lucius."_

 _Draco sat there with a large smile on his face the entire meal. He was very pleased with his parents' reactions. Severus looked at one of his oldest friends with a look that could only be described as wary. "What have you told your parents Ron?"_

 _Ron sat his fork down and looked at his plate. "I've started laying out hints to Mum.. about me not wanting to be with a woman. But I don't think she quite catches what I mean, she just grumbles a bit about me needing to get over Lavender."_

 _Narcissa looked a bit confused. "The Brown girl? What about her?"_

" _When that whole marriage law thing was going on, she was the one who was 'selected' for me. I was confused, because I had only been with her in the past to make Hermione jealous. When it was repealed she told me that she was pregnant, and I knew that she had been cheating on me because we hadn't.. shall we say consummated our impending nuptials." There was a light gasp, but Draco frowned and grabbed Ron's hand._

" _I think I deserve credit for turning you off of women." Draco smirked, trying to lighten the mood._

 _Ron smiled at him. "Anyways especially since Gin and Harry got married, mum has been trying to set me up with different women."_

 _Severus grimaced, remembering his tense interactions with the Weasley matriarch from throughout their shared time in the Order. "Would you like me to say something? Not about your relationship, but ask her to back off a little?" Hermione asked._

" _No, I need to talk to her myself."_

 _There were a few minutes of silence before Lucius looked between Severus and Hermione. "So what are you two planning on doing over break?"_

" _On the 23 we have plans to visit my biological parents. Christmas eve morning we're going to visit my real parents, and then go over to Harry and Ginny's manor where we will stay the night, and then do a big shindig for Christmas morning with all of the Weasleys."_

" _Ah yes, I'd nearly forgotten about the old Black Manor. If I'm not mistaken it's only been in the Potter family for a few generations." Lucius said matter-of-factly, before looking at Severus. "So Rodolphus is your father-in-law?"_

* * *

Hermione stood in front of the full length mirror in Severus and her quarters pulling on her dress, trying to straighten it over her stomach. Now at four months pregnant she was showing, and nothing seemed to fit quite right. "Are you sure that this looks okay Sev?"

He stood in the doorway watching as she twisted and turned in front of the mirror, trying to see her stomach from every angle. "You look beautiful, are you ready to go? I want to get this over with."

She looked shocked at his tone. "We don't have to go." She replied harshly.

"Yes we do." He replied, just as harsh.

"You don't but I do."

"If you think that I will leave you alone with that man-."

"He was cleared of all charges Sev."

"He must have lied, I know how he is."

"So how about you stay here if you're going to be an arse the entire time."

"You can't go alone around Rodol-." He began, but she just rolled her eyes, grabbed her wand, and shoved past him to get to the sitting room. Throwing a handful of powder into the fire she disappeared in green flames.

Meissa moved cheerfully around the kitchen, Rodolphus stood at the wall where she had told him to stand out of her way. "Are you sure you don't need any help love?"

"Everything is almost done Rodo. You are more than welcome to set the table." She replied as she checked the casserole in the oven. When he moved to the cabinet she turned to him, "let's use the china, it's a special occasion."

Rodolphus wanted to say something about how it would probably be as tense as the meeting, but she had seemed unobservant to the elephant in the room. He had just finished setting the table when they heard the floo flare to life. Meissa, who was still getting used to the noise, jumped, before wiping her hands on her apron and moving to the doorway.

Hermione had stepped away from the floo and was looking around the room when her eyes fell on a framed ultrasound. She moved over to the shelf where it stood, when she noticed the picture of her and Severus at their wedding. She didn't realize she had started crying, until two warm arms had encircled her. "What's wrong darling?"

After Meissa let go she wiped her eyes off, and just as she opened her mouth the floo flared again, and the imposing figure of Severus Snape stepped out. When his searching eyes fell on his wife, he frowned. "Why are you crying?"

"I thought that you'd decided against coming." She replied, wiping the rest of her tears of and turning to Meissa, ignoring her husband. "Is that mine?"

Meissa looked between the two of them and nodded. "Yes it is, I framed it as soon as I got home from the appointment."

In that time Severus had turned to Rodolphus. "Did you say something to her?"

Hermione turned to him. "He said nothing to me you bloody prat."

His eyebrow arched as he turned to her. "Young lady, you shouldn't use that kind of language." Meissa said, jumping when the timer on the stove went off. "Ooh, that'll be the casserole. Rodo, help me get it out of the oven dear."

"You've been telling me all morning that you don't want help." He replied, following Meissa with a fond smile on his face.

Once they were both in the kitchen Severus approached his wife. "I'm sorry love."

She looked up at him. "Why can't you understand that I need to do this?"

"I understand I do, I just don't trust him. You know that I've changed from who I was, and what I did in the first war. But there were _missions_ that he and I went on together-."

"Severus, I gave you the benefit of the doubt when we were paired together by the stupid law, and by the time it was repealed, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I understand that you've known him longer than I have, and I admit all that I really know about him is what I read in the papers, and what was discussed when we all met up. I need to know my parents Sev."

"I know, I just worry."

"And I love that you worry, but I don't think that you need to worry about this."

Meissa stuck her head in. "Lunch is ready you two."

Hermione looked stricken. "I forgot the pie."

Severus held up the box in his hand. "I still don't like him." He murmured to her as they made their way into the kitchen. Rodolphus had been right, the meal was very tense. When they moved to the sitting room however, the mood changed noticeably.

"I know that we won't see you two the actually holiday," Meissa began, stepping over to the tree she had set up in the corner. "But I wanted to get you both something." When she turned towards Hermione and Sev she had two gifts in her hand. After she handed them to her daughter and son in law, she sat down on the loveseat by Rodolphus.

Hermione looked at Severus, who seemed stunned to have gotten anything. When he saw her glance he turned to her. "Ladies first love."

Her answering smile took his breath away, and she turned to her gift and pulled the paper away, finding two baby books. One in a plastic package, and the other not. She opened the cover and gasped at what she saw. "Hermione Caliope Lestrange."

"Obviously I wasn't able to add any details after your birth. But you were always in my thoughts. The coma I was in, wasn't one where I was able to hear what was going on around me, I was mostly dreaming about our family being together."

Hermione went over to her mother, and pulled her off of the loveseat and into a tight hug. "Thank you so much."

When they released each other, and sat back down next to their husbands Hermione turned to Severus. "Open your gift Sev."

"You really didn't hav-."

"You're married to my daughter, you're family."

Severus opened the box to find a bottle of Ogden's Best Fire Whiskey. "I hope that Ogden's is still your favorite Severus." Rodolphus said quietly.

"It is, thank you." He replied.

Hermione got her beaded bag out of a pocket that was hidden in her skirts. She reached her arm in and began pulling things out of its depths, setting them in Severus's lap. "I've brought gifts for you two as well." She muttered, arm sinking in up to her shoulder. Meissa was watching with a fascinated look on her face.

"You didn't have to get us anything dear, we're just glad to have you here."

"It's alright mum, I wanted to." Hermione said as she continued digging, not realizing what she had said. Up until that point she'd never addressed her as such, stating that she hadn't felt comfortable with it. "Ah'ha!" Hermione cried, finally having found the gifts she had tied together with string.

"It amazes me that after all of this time in the wizarding world that you and Potter alike seem to forget at times that you have magic."

She gave him a devious look. "I can think of several extremely painful castration charms that I haven't forgotten darling." Smirking at how his cheeks paled, she pulled out her wand and cast a light severing charm on the string holding the packages together. As she handed them to Meissa and Rodolphus respectively she then waved her wand moving the items back into her bag.

Rodolphus was smiling fondly at his daughter. "You get that look from your mother."

Meissa pulled open her package, and was stunned to silence. There were two items in her box. The top being a folded up portion of the Family Tree of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. "How did you get my name restored?"

"Harry was named as his godfather Sirius's heir. After the war Harry claimed the title Lord Black. I asked him to restore you to the family." Under the bit of tapestry was a pocket watch.

"Was this-?" Meissa began, but was unable to finish.

"Harry found it in a box that was inside the Black vault that had your father's name on it. Open the back."

Meissa opened the back of the watch, and saw that inside was a picture of she, her father, and her two sisters. "I can't believe he carried this around. I thought that Mother would have made him replace it with one that included Bellatrix." Meissa held the watch to her chest. "Please tell Harry thank you for me."

Rodolphus took that as his que to open his gift. He didn't know what to expect. His box also had two items. There was a packet on top was from Harry as Lord Black, absolving him from his marriage to Bellatrix. "This means-."

"That you two can be married in the magical world." It was something that previously they hadn't had the option of doing despite the fact that Bellatrix had been dead for almost two years. The marriage contract that had been enacted between families Lestrange and Black and been cut throat and ruthless. Lestrange men had a bit of a reputation for making their wives disappear, so there was a clause written into the contract where if Bellatrix were to die of unnatural causes before producing an heir that Rodolphus would be unable to marry again.

Severus sat quietly beside Hermione and watched as Rodolphus lifted up the packet of papers. He didn't trust the man, he didn't like the man, and despite the fact that the tests the man had undergone were incapable of being faked Severus didn't believe Rodolphus's innocence. However, when his wife had asked him if he knew of anything that Rodolphus would like as a gift, he answered truthfully. Though not to the level that Arthur Weasley was, Rodolphus had a strange fascination with certain muggle items. Namely 'Sudoku Books'. Though his excuse whenever a fellow Death Eater caught him with a book of it if they were staying in the same place in preparation of a raid, that the original idea for the modern game was created by a wizard.

Hermione was pleased when she saw Rodolphus's face light up as he saw the different books of Sudoku, grateful that Severus had told her correctly.

* * *

Travers was irritated. His mistress had denied any and all attempts he'd made to change their working relationship into a physical one. And now she wanted him to follow around the Snape woman. He'd given her what she'd had coming to her at Hogwarts during the battle, and he grinned lasciviously as he thought of it. The stupid bitch would get it again once they had her captured. He'd watch with gleaming eyes as his mistress slit her throat as he plunged into her.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,330**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 31,143**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

Hermione and Severus settled into their bed in a Guest bedroom at Potter Manor. "Today went better than I thought it would." She murmured.

The arm around her waist tightened, "It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be."

She snorted as she turned her head towards the pillow. "Well that's because you seemed to be thinking Rodo was going to morph into Voldemort and try to kill me."

He could tell by the sleepy amusement that her voice was layered with, that she was joking. But he still felt the need to explain himself. "You said that you gave me the benefit of the doubt about my youth, but I don't think you fully comprehend. I may have joined young, but I knew what I was doing." There was a light snore indicating that she'd fallen asleep, but he continued on. "Even after I joined I had to do evil and despicable things, which I did willingly, to gain his favor. Your father was a few years older than me, but he was there with us new recruits showing us how certain curses worked. Bellatrix, who he'd already wed, particularly enjoyed demonstrating her skills with a knife. We all did horrible things, and I am filled with such remorse because of the things that I did when I was in _his_ service. I _hurt_ people. When we married, before then really, I vowed to do everything in my power to protect you. I hope that doesn't include hurting him, but if it does I will do it."

The silence grew, and eventually his grip around Hermione's waist slackened. His eye had closed and Hermione could hear his deep breathing behind her. She'd almost fallen asleep when he started talking but the word evil had kept her from slipping into the arms of Morpheus. Her eyes were wide open now, staring at the wall across from her side of the bed.

 **Chapter Seventeen**

"Travers, what have you found so far?" A haughty voice asked.

"Just that they are staying in Potter Manor for the holidays my lady." He replied running his eyes up and down her body.

"Potter Manor? That manor rightfully belongs to the Blacks." She screeched. "You dare disgrace the house of my Father?"

He held his hands up, as if to placate her. "No my lady. I just called it that so you'd know what I was talking about." Then, brazenly, because it was Christmas, and on Christmas you tell the truth, he continued. "I also knew you'd get fired up over it, and anger makes your beauty shine brighter. I can hardly take my eyes off of you."

The room was silent for a moment, and he was excited until the temperature began to plummet as she spoke in a cold voice. "What have I told you about speaking to me like that Travers?"

"Not to, but truthfully, I'm attracted by your power. Your aura. I _want_ you Bellatrix."

Reigning in what little control she had over her temper, she changed the subject. "Did you send out that _gift_ to our friend?"

His lips curled up into a pleased smirk, letting the previous topic drop. "I expect it to be in the papers tomorrow."

* * *

Harry sat up rubbing his eyes, not realizing what woke him until he heard the sounds of vomiting coming from the bathroom that adjoined his and Ginny's suite. As soon as that registered, he was out of bed and into the bathroom, holding his wife's red hair out of the way as she puked up what she'd had the house elves bring her at one in the morning. "Are you okay Gin?" He asked as she finished.

She pulled a box out of her pocket as she stood up, and handed it to him. They had told their guests that breakfast and presents were going to be done in pajamas. "I guess you get your gift early," she said thickly as she filled the glass sitting next to the sink with water.

She turned to watch him as she took a sip. He gave her a curious smile, as he opened the long thin box. Looking down, he lifted the paper and froze, before glancing up at her. "Is this serious?"

"Not yet," she replied fighting off a smile, "but if it's a boy we can name him that."

His jaw dropped, "you're definitely pregnant?"

At her nod he whooped and pulled her into a hug. "I performed the charm yesterday morning, and I asked Hermione to pick me up a test from a muggle shop so I could give it to you as a surprise."

He pulled her into a fiery kiss, before pulling away too soon. "Let's go down to breakfast and share the good news."

Ginny smiled fondly. "Let Ron tell his news first. The good news might divert some of the potentially negative reactions that his may cause." He nodded in agreement as they went to leave their suite.

* * *

Breakfast was in full swing, Weasley style, when Molly turned to Ron. "Dear, when are you going to find a nice girl?"

Taking a deep breath, Ron decided it was time. "I've actually been in a relationship since the end of August." He replied.

"Why haven't you brought her over to meet us?" She asked.

"Because we weren't sure how you'd react to him."

It took her a moment for that to click in her head before her mouth fell into a silent "oh". Ron looked down as the table went silent, anxiety growing. "And when are we going to meet him?"

He looked back up, surprised. "You want to meet him?"

"Does he make you happy dear?" She replied, not answering his question.

Ron blushed. "Very much so. I wasn't expecting it to go this well. Sometimes I even worry that it's going too well."

"Then that is all that matters to your father and I. So when do we get to meet him." Arthur watched his wife with pride, and smiled encouragingly at his son.

"We're both anxious because he doesn't think you'll like him."

As Molly opened her mouth to question him further Harry stood up, drawing attention away from Ron, who sent him a grateful smile. "I also have news."

"What is it Harry dear?" Hermione ducked her head to hide a smile, correctly assuming what the news was.

"Gin and I are going to be having a baby."

* * *

 **MINISTRY OUTRAGE!**

 _ **By Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet: Olivia Newhart**_

 _Minister of Magic Patrick Jergens is safe after assassination attempt. "One of the passersby must have dropped the package while I was in a conference with the minister." Said Senior Under Secretary to the Minister James Sullivan during an interview from his room at St. Mungo's. "I came out of the Ministers office and approached my desk when it went off."_

" _When what went off?" I asked._

" _It wasn't an explosion, but there was a loud pop and gas began to fill the office space. It became very difficult to breathe."_

" _What happened after that?"_

" _Well, before I joined the ministry, I studied to be a Potions Master, and did gain my mastery, but haven't used it since I got my job here. It took a moment to recognize what exactly it was, but Hemlocks Brew is what I did my thesis on so I identified it as soon as I began to lose my vision."_

" _So what is Hemlocks Brew, and how did you get rid of the smoke?"_

" _Hemlocks Brew is a drought made with several parts of the poisonous plant Hemlock, hence its name, and a mixture of other ingredients that creates a toxic mist. The only way to get rid of it, and it normally takes several casts as the brew is so potent, is the spell nearly every Potions Master knows by the time he gains his, or her mastery,_ _ **mundate aer.**_ _It clears the air of fumes, toxins, smog, and the like."_

" _How long does the blindness last?"_

 _He took a deep breath and gulped, "I may never regain my eyesight. The doctor told me that it will all depend on how deep the poison got into my eyes."_

 _And that, dear readers, is where the interview ended, as nurses bustled in to take care of Mr. Sullivan._

 _So, going over what we found out, someone sent, or dropped something off ten feet or so from the Ministers office, and that item emitted toxic gas. What caused it to go off? Was it, in fact, meant for the Minister? Or was it meant for Mr. Sullivan? I'll endeavor to find out for you soon. So stay_ _tuned_ _._

* * *

 _ **Minister Makes Statement After Recent Attack!**_

" _Aurors and Unspeakables alike have examined the package. They have determined that it was indeed intentional. After checking for trace magic they discovered that the item had a trip spell which activated when my office door opened. Aurors are trying to find remnants of the perpetrators magical signature."_

 _Head of the Aurors stepped up. "It is believed that the perpetrator has inside knowledge of the ministry, as he was wearing dampening charms that made our security charms not be able to get a clear picture. Obviously I cannot go into detail as to the full extent of the security that was breached, to avoid copy cats. Security has been amped up however, so if this person attempts something like this again, there is no doubt in my mind that we will catch the guilty_ _person_ _(s)." (Continued on Page 5)_

* * *

 _ **Award Given to James Sullivan**_ _ **by Minister Himself!**_

" _I am lucky to have such accomplished and successful staff on hand. I award James Sullivan an Order of Merlin First Class for services to the Ministry. In thanks for, no doubt, preventing my death, my family and I are more than happy to cover his medical bills_ _."_

* * *

Meissa leaned against Rodolphus as they sat on the couch watching an old movie. "Why do you think Severus doesn't like you dear?"

He sighed heavily. "He joined the Death Eaters a few years after me. Even as I tried to fight the charms and potions I was under, I was ordered to do horrible things to innocent people. Severus was there for a lot of them. I admit, even after finding out that he was a spy, I'm not sure I like the idea of him being with our daughter."

"I think they are good together. He wants to protect her, and their baby."

"I will not let him keep us away from our daughter. Especially as I have so much to apologize for." At the look she gave him, he continued. "Not anything that has been done by me directly, but Bellatrix has done her a lot of harm. She was captive at Malfoy Manor and Bella dug a knife into her arm, slicing the word mudblood into it."

"I may not remember a lot of the magical world, but our daughter isn't a mudblood. I have no magic, but I was… I am a daughter of 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black'." She said, doing air quotations. "Since you are a pureblood also, our daughter would be one as well."

"But that was all unknown until recently." He stated. "As far as everybody knew she was a muggleborn."

She heaved a great sigh. "I so wish we'd been able to raise her. But the Grangers seem to have done well."

He nodded. "I agree that for muggles it could have been much worse."

"What on earth do you mean?"

Realizing that she thought he was discriminating against non-magicals, which included her, he quickly replied, "Only that some muggles abuse their children when the children begin presenting magic. I'm grateful that she wasn't placed with a family like that." She nodded in agreement as she snuggled up closer to her husband.

"Absolutely."

* * *

Deep in the Ministry of Magic, an elevator dinged, "Level Nine: Department of Mysteries." Three people, in dark robes, hurried down the corridor, the person in the back was levitating a device that was being held in a bubble of air, that was filled with smoke.

The doorway at the end of the corridor opened into a circular room. "I wonder why the Aurors let us have it so soon." One muttered as the door shut behind them.

The one in front snorted as the room spun. "I imagine they were completely bamboozled by it, and want to know what we can figure out."

As soon as the room stopped, the third person called out, "open the door to our workspace." The door directly to their right opened up into a room that had work tables set up all over, almost similar to a potions laboratory. Along the wall were several bookshelves, filled with books, some of which were dripping an ominous liquid. Some of the work tables had books laying open on them, only one of which, with someone reading.

"Hey, did any of you three have to deal with that marriage law last year?" He asked.

There were a few grumbles. "The witch it tried to bloody set me up with was Rita Skeeter."

The woman reading snorted in amusement. "I'm reading the potions journal of the Conquistador who created it, listen to this. _Many of us are in denial about what we need. We need to continue our bloodlines, to extend our families. Individuals who have unnatural thoughts or feelings about people of their own gender, will be paired with someone who in the past tried to reach out to them with feelings of attraction. But those who are normal will be paired with someone, who with some reflection, will make them happy._ "

The three who'd just entered laughed. "That explains about Aubrey." As soon as the laughter died away, they began working on the item they'd been given, and the fourth person bent back over their table to read.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 3,307**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 34,450**_

 _ **MAJOR ANGST WARNING! POSSIBLE TRIGGERS FOR MISCARRIAGE/PAST RAPE!**_

 _ **Dormierunt - fall asleep**_

 _ **Foetus Mensura - Measure Fetus**_

 _ **tempora conceptionis - measure time of conception**_

 _ **foetus audire pulsatio - hear the fetal heartbeat**_

 _ **foetus vitae - fetal life**_

 _ **~Enjoy.**_

 **Chapter Eighteen**

Sometimes Hermione found it hard to believe that over a year had passed since that Marriage Law had been put into place. Shaking her head out of reminiscence, she looked around the streets of Hogsmeade, where she was one of several Professors helping to chaperone the first visit of the year. With it only being the second week in January, she was bundled up nice and tight, and the swell of her stomach was visible despite the extra layers that Severus had piled on top of her. Though, with her being 5 months pregnant now, that was hardly a surprise.

Suddenly, she caught a whiff of something that triggered an unpleasant memory in her head. There was a strong odor of someone who hadn't bathed in a while, that was tinged with the edge of blood, and sex. Her breathing sped up as she began to frantically look around her, moving towards the middle of the street so that she couldn't get pulled into a room, not again. "Are you okay Professor?"

Hermione turned towards the voice. "I'm… fine." She replied, fruitlessly trying to slow down her breathing.

Astoria turned to one of her friends. "Go get Professor Snape," after a quick glance at Hermione, she added, "the other one." As her friend ran off Astoria turned back to the hysterical woman who was married to her head of house. "You need to calm down ma'am. Getting yourself worked up like this isn't good for the baby."

Hermione's eyes filled with fear. "Oh no, the baby, don't let him hurt the baby." She hurriedly muttered.

"Don't let who hurt the baby ma'am? The Professor?"

Shaking her head swiftly, her eyes darting side to side to make sure that _he_ wasn't there. Not that she'd know his face of course, she could still remember, vividly, the mask he wore. "NO," she burst out, quick to defend Severus. "THAT MAN!"

There was a loud crack as Severus apparated to her side, winded from his run to the gates where he could apparate closer. "What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"I think she's having a panic attack Professor. I tried to get her calmed down, but it didn't work. She's worried about someone hurting the baby."

Severus grabbed his wife's face, and turned it to his, "Darling you need to calm down."

"I can't! He'll take the baby to her! He'll hurt us!" She cried.

Covertly, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. " _Dormierunt."_ He caught his wife as she began to slump forward, and turned to Astoria and her friends. "Please go get butter beers, and tell Madam Rosmerta that I'm paying for them. Thank you very much for coming to get me."

Hermione, whose breathing had slowed in slumber, gripped her husband's robes in her fist, as the lingering traces of fear dissipated as she fell deeper into sleep.

* * *

The conference room at the Ministry was packed full of Aurors, Unspeakables, and Trainees alike when Minister Jergens arrived. "Hello everybody, I'm sorry about the delay." There were a few murmurs before he sat down, but when he turned to them the room was quiet. "On the matter of the box, what do we know so far?" He asked the head of the Department of Mysteries Marcus Antoine.

He shifted, almost uncomfortably as everybody turned to him, knowing that the news wouldn't be received well. "We don't know who delivered it, but we were able to extract enough remnants of a magical signature from the transfigured parchment paper to make an educated guess as to who wanted it sent."

"And that person would be?" An auror off to the side asked.

"Upon examination, and triple checking the records, the magical signature that we detected could have only belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange."

Minister Jergens shot sparks out of his wand, as Kingsleys emitted the noise of a fire cracker, in an effort to calm down the group. As even the most of advanced aurors began to scoff, the only person who truly understood what the discovery meant, quickly exited the room to send letters off to people he needed to have an important meeting with.

* * *

Hermione was happy that after Severus had spent the day with her, she was able to sleep without a nightmare. "I still don't know why you had Minerva cancel my classes today Sev."

He kissed her on the cheek as he buttoned his robes. "Because you need another day to calm down and relax after the incident yesterday."

"I don't think it'll make a difference. That's the first time that's happened since shortly after the war." As he finished buttoning his robes he came around the table again and leaned her head back as he drew her into a long kiss.

"Just take the day off dear. Your students will still be there tomorrow."

She got up and gestured to the packages and mail on the table. "What are these?"

"Some correspondence that came for you late last night. I saw it when I came in from my Potions Lab."

She grimaced at the thought of going through it. "I don't know why I've gotten so much stuff at once." She said as she looked at the box on top. "OOH! This is the book I ordered from Catherby's Book Keep."

His eyebrows raised. "What on earth did you order from Catherby's?"

"An old book of potions and spells for expectant mothers." She replied, shifting through some other stuff. "This is probably Ron's birthday present. When is Draco's birthday?" She asked looking up at him.

"June 5th." Severus replied, kissing her again, before leaning down to press a kiss against her clothed stomach. "I'll be back down for lunch with you two after my classes."

Sighing as her husband walked out of their quarters, Hermione turned again back to her mail. She had indeed received her book, and the two season passes to see the Chudley Cannons for Ron. There was a letter addressed to Mione, that she set aside, knowing that if it were important, Harry would have floo'd over. Another box was a series of catalogues for the baby. Though excited about the opportunity to really start shopping, she continued. After sorting through the packages, finally she got to the last one. This one had no label to say who it was from. Opening the box seemed to cause a chain reaction as the bottom fell out, and old newspapers spread everywhere.

Maneuvering to the floor, Hermione crouched down to pick them up. But when her eyes caught the headline she gasped.

 **RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE STRIKES AGAIN**

 **By Charles Laroue**

 _A woman came forward, who shall remain un-named. She claims to have been brutally raped by someone she positively identifies as Rodolphus Lestrange. She consented to do a brief interview after she was fully examined by the doctors at St. Mungos._

 _CL: Ma'am, I was wondering how you were sure that it was Rodolphus Lestrange._

 _V: It was one of the Lestrange brothers, of that I had no doubt. I know it was Rodolphus because I saw in the paper last week that Alastor Moody gave the other... Rabastan a wound that runs down the side of his face._

 _CL: Did he say anything during the attack?_

 _V: Just that it would hurt less if I didn't fight it. He told me that I wanted it, that he'd seen me in Diagon Alley, and he could tell that I wanted him._

 _I comforted her as she began to cry._

 _CL: I'm sure that the Aurors are out looking for him now._

 _V: If the Lestranges were easily found, they'd be caught by now. The aurors aren't going to be finding anything._

Picking up the next article, Hermione looked around to see that all of them had similar titles, and all of them were about the same man.

 **FAMILY OF EIGHT MURDERED**

 **RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE AT LARGE**

 **LESTRANGE BROTHERS STRIKE AGAIN**

 **AURORS ATTACKED! NOW RESIDENTS OF JANUS THICKEY WARD!**

 **LESTRANGES CAPTURED!**

Hermione got up from the floor as swiftly as she could, and ran to the loo as she was overcome with the need to vomit, and for the first time since she became pregnant, it had nothing to do with her child. As soon as her breakfast was swirling its way through the pipes, she came back into the sitting room. For the moment ignoring the articles, she picked up the letter from Harry and opened it.

 _Hermione,_

 _I need to meet with you and Ron again. Only the two of you, how bout the pub at noon. I hope Severus will understand._

 _Harry_

Her hands fell to her stomach, worry for the baby overwhelming her. She moved into the bedroom and began getting ready.

* * *

 _"Muffliato,"_ Harry murmured the moment they sat and got their food.

"Mate, what's up?" Ron asked distractedly, thinking of the blonde who if things went well at their date that evening, would be naked in his bed by the morning.

"You've both heard about the attempt on the Minister's life?"

"Of course, it was in all the papers. The students couldn't stop talking about it!" Hermione replied.

"Well, yesterday the Unspeakables gave a report on the box. They were able to detect remnants of Bellatrix's magical signature. Which has been triple checked. The senior aurors have completely disregarded this. Kingsley has given me the unofficial go ahead on this 'case', and told me that when and if the time comes that we need support, he will make sure we get it."

"So what's the plan?"

"We should meet again in a few days. I want to go back to the family where the diary came from and see if I can dig up someone from the parents past who would be angry enough at them to unleash a Horcrux on their child. We need to know who is helping her and where they are staying."

"I could ask Lucius if he'd be able to look into any properties where sellers have gone missing." Ron supplied.

Hermione frowned lightly as she caressed her stomach. "I will of course help you take her down. After what she did to me. But I don't know what I could do without alerting Severus."

"You could ask him about Hemlocks Brew and if he knew anybody back from his school days who could brew it. Bellatrix was only a couple of years older than him, and they were both in Slytherin, so I'm sure he would know if she'd have had any kind of skills in potions."

Hermione nodded, though she was still frowning. "I actually don't know if I want to speak to him right now."

Both Harry and Ron got that protective look on their faces. "Why?"

"He just won't let this 'Rodolphus is a bad person' thing drop. He nearly caused a fight at Christmas, he says how he doesn't trust him every time he's brought up, and I'm fairly certain he's the one who sent me the box of old newspaper clippings that are centered on my father and uncle." Having said this in one breath, and her voice raising an increment every word, she was nearly yelling by the time she was done.

Chest heaving, she sat back and looked between the two. Ron gave her a cheeky smile. "Bloody hell Hermione, tell us how you truly feel."

Harry snickered a little, before his laughter stopped. "Hermione you've seen the healer's reports. I can imagine the sort of newspaper articles you're speaking of, but with the amount of compulsions he was under, it's no surprise how he got into the inner circle within three months of being a Death Eater."

"I know, just with how Severus talks about him, and after seeing those articles, I can't help but feel apprehensive."

"What does Ginny think you're doing right now mate?" Ron asked, trying to change subjects so Hermione didn't get angry again.

"Molly wanted to take her to do some shopping for the baby, so she told me to come see you guys actually."

* * *

"Okay Mrs. Potter, please lie back." Healer Kaylee said gently to the crying woman.

"Please tell me it's okay. I woke up last night and I was cramping really bad. I wasn't bleeding so I thought it was okay. I sent my mum a letter this morning, and asked her to bring me to the hospital because there was some light spotting." Ginny said as the Healer rubbed a potion on her stomach.

Molly held her hand tight. "I've had a few miscarriages, so I was so incredibly worried when Ginny told me what was going on. Even after I'd had a couple of children it was still devastating to lose another. She was bleeding heavily when I arrived."

Kaylee was moving her wand in a circular motion over Ginny's stomach when the image appeared in the air over them. "Okay I'm going to cast a few spells that will help determine what may be happening while the lab runs the tests on your blood. Is that all right with you?"

"Of course." She replied, tears streaming down her face.

" _Foetus Mensura."_ She called, making a small piece of parchment pop out of the tip of her wand. "Your fetus is measuring at what would normally be about six weeks. Have you been to a healer to find out your date of conception yet?"

"No, we have an appointment for next week to see Healer Mumphrey." She replied.

"This spell will determine when you conceived. _Tempora Conceptionis._ " The Healers reaction to what the paper that popped out said made Molly's heart break for her daughter. "I don't want to say anything for sure yet, but according to this spell you conceived on November 14th."

Sobs began falling from Ginny. "But that was two months ago!" She cried.

"Please wait just a moment before casting any more spells, I need to go out into the hall for a moment." Molly said, swiftly moving to the door. As soon as it shut, she pulled out her wand and cried, " _Expecto Patronum."_ When it turned towards her she spoke swiftly. "Go to Harry and tell him that he needs to come to St. Mungo's immediately."

She entered the room again and found the healer trying to comfort Ginny. "What can you do that would be able to determine whether or not she's having a miscarriage?" Though she already knew, she could remember the spell very well.

Showing that she was a compassionate person she turned to look at Ginny. "Mrs. Potter, the next spell will detect even the faintest of heart beats from the fetus. After that there is another that will definitively answer whether or not you've had a miscarriage. Would you like me to cast them now or should we call your husband?"

"Please cast them now." She replied.

"If this first spell detects the heartbeat, it will amplify the sound enough that we'd be able to hear it as if from booming speakers for five seconds." Kaylee explained, and at Ginny's nod she cast the spell. " _Foetus Audire Pulsatio."_ When there was no sound for a full minute Ginny turned to her mother.

"What am I supposed to tell Harry? Or the family? How am I supposed to tell him that our baby is dead? What if he doesn't love me anymore?"

"Mrs. Potter, per procedure, to validate any miscarriage, there is one more spell I must cast. It your fetus is in fact deceased, it will emit a red light, and if your fetus is still alive it will emit a blue light, would you like me to wait a few moments, or would you like me to cast it now?"

"Now please." She replied, sniffling as she tried to keep herself from breaking down. Harry had been so excited when she'd told him that they were having a baby. Healer Kaylee raised her wand again. _"Foetus Vitae"_ Ginny completely broke down at the deep red color that was emitted by the wand. "I'll leave you two alone while I go write up the paperwork."

There was a knock on the door and Molly left the side of her distraught daughter to answer it. "Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked, gasping for air from his run through the hospital.

"Ginny needs you right now Harry. If she doesn't tell you after she's calmed down, then I will tell you later. Right now I need to go get the family."

Harry nodded and moved out of the way so that she could leave, before entering the room and climbing into bed with Ginny, who instantly clung to him. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. Please don't leave me. I love you so much."

"What do you have to be sorry for Gin?"

"I lost the baby." She sobbed, fisting his shirt in her hands. "I'm so sorry."

When her words hit him he clutched her tightly against him, and cried with her over the loss of their baby.

* * *

Hermione arrived back in their quarters when it was close to dinner time. She'd gone to the Burrow with Ron when Harry had to run to the hospital. She didn't go to the hospital when Molly arrived and told everybody what had happened. She'd wanted to get home and talk to Severus. "Where have you been?"

She turned with a gasp of shock. "I met up with Ron and Harry. Harry got called away to St. Mungos, and I went with Ron to the Burrow to find out what happened. Ginny had a miscarriage."

"Do you not remember that we were supposed to have lunch together?" He asked.

"It was importa-."

"Let me guess it was one of those secret meetings between you, Potter, and the Weasley that you won't tell me about."

"I don't think I quite deserve that level of animosity." She replied.

"So it was? What was this one about?"

She hesitated. She wanted to tell him, but she didn't know how he'd react. "I told you I'd tell you when it's completely necessary. We don't have anything more than mild suspicions. We have no tangible evidence yet."

"You're five months pregnant!" He yelled. "You're my wife, I think I deserve to know where you're going!"

"It was Harry and Ron!" She yelled back. "It's not like I was off fighting bad guys!"

"How was I to know that! You left no note, didn't have the decency to tell me that you'd be missing lunch."

"I ate lunch!" She replied. "And while we're on the subject of having no decency, why don't you tell me why you sent me that box of newspaper clippings!"

"What newspaper clippings?"

She stomped over to the box from where she'd set it on the desk that sat in the corner. Sticking a hand in, she grabbed some of them out and walked over to him where he stood by the table. Slamming the articles down on the table she turned and started to walk towards the door. "Those clippings. You can read them tonight while you're sleeping on the bloody couch."

"Where are you going now?" He yelled as she opened the door.

"I'm going to comfort my friends who just lost their baby. I'll be back tonight." She turned out and saw that there were a couple of students meandering through out the corridor, and they were all looking at her and the open door. "There's nothing to see here kids." She told them.

Darren Parkinson took a tentative step towards her. "Is everything okay Professor?"

Hermione turned to look at Severus, before she gently shut the door. "Everything is fine Mr. Parkinson. Please, carry on about your business." She replied before turning on her heel, robes billowing out behind her, as she strode quickly to the staircase.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 3,452**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 37,902**_

 _So sorry that this chapter is so late. I wasn't pleased with how certain sections came out, and I was trying to fix them. I'm still not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out, but I feel like it's as close to right as I'm going to get it._

 _ **~Enjoy**_

 **Chapter Nineteen**

Harry raised his fist to knock on the door. He understood the necessity of follow-up interviews in some cases, but the Brunsman family had already had so much to deal with. He had questions still, about the circumstances around the journal but knew the answers would probably be irrelevant at this point. "Mr. Potter!" came Kaitlin Brunsmans surprised voice as she opened the door.

"I'm terribly sorry ma'am, but I'm here to do a follow up interview. I hate to bring it up again, but I've several questions to ask you and your husband about any enemies you may have had."

She opened the door and motioned him in. "You came on a good day, Charles is home from work due to Damien's birthday being tomorrow."

A few minutes later and Harry was sitting down in a chair across the coffee table from the Brunsmans. "My wife said you needed to ask us some more questions Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, just a few more, in depth questions."

The couple held hands. "What do you need to ask?"

"Do you have any family, immediate, or distant, who has ever made threats against you? No matter how small?"

Charles frowned. "Well, there was a cousin who wasn't happy that he didn't get an inheritance when our grandfather died. My uncle had broken a marriage contract with a wealthy family and married a muggle. Grandfather wasn't pleased, so he disowned him and cut him out of his will. Frank was very angry when my father died and I got the lordship. He thought he deserved it more than I did. He threatened to get me back, but that was before I'd met Kaitlin."

Harry was writing all of this down. "And what was his last name? I assume because his father was disowned they had to take the wifes name?"

"Yes, my uncle and cousin had to take on the last name Travers."

Harrys eyebrows rose. "Travers? Like the Sacred Twenty-Eight Travers?"

"There could be a correlation I guess. Franks mother was an orphan from what I remember. So it could have been that the Travers family threw her out when she didn't show signs of magic."

"I didn't have many interactions with Travers during the war," Harry started. "I did remember hearing that there was a Frank Travers who claimed he was from the Pure-Blood family."

Charles nodded. "That would be him."

* * *

Hermione sat at the head table beside Severus as they ate their breakfast. "How are you feeling today dear?" He asked.

"Well the smell of bacon isn't making me nauseous today so I think I'm doing a bit better." There was a fluttering noise as the mail came in, each of them getting a couple of letters. Opening the first one Hermione turned to Severus. "Meissa and Rodo are inviting us and my parents over for dinner tonight."

"Respond and tell them no, I have to patrol the corridors for misbehaving students." Minerva, who must have been listening to the conversation interrupted.

"I can patrol for you tonight Severus. Family is important, and you're going to want the support of all of your family when it comes time to finding a babysitter for your child."

"Rodolphus Lestrange will not be watching my child!" He snapped, not even thinking of Hermione, whose chair scooted back with a loud noise as she stood to her feet.

"I will be going to dinner with my parents tonight. You should make up your mind as to whether or not _you_ want to go." She growled, before storming out of the hall.

Minerva chuckled. "Well Severus, you do certainly have a way with irritating people."

"I don't believe that is any of your business Minerva." He replied frankly.

"No but the happiness of my teaching staff is Severus. You know that several things have changed since my taking over the school."

"She doesn't know Rodolphus Lestrange like I do."

"From what I read he was under a multitude of potions and spells, so to my understanding you don't know Rodolphus Lestrange at all."

"He was a Death Eater!"

"Need I remind you that you were as well Severus? You should give both Hermione and yourself a proper opportunity to get to know her father."

"Minerva, you haven't seen the things that I have. You don't know what Rodolphus has done."

Minerva hardened up. "Severus did you know that I had a sister?"

The head table got really quiet. Only Pomona and Filius knew what had happened to her sister. "No I didn't."

"Both she, her husband, and their two children, a boy and a girl, were murdered by the Lestranges at the height of the first war. I believe that if I can move past my grievances with Rodolphus, then you can as well."

* * *

After her last class of the day, Hermione made her way down to Hogsmeade to purchase something to take to dinner with them. She'd stopped to glance into the window at Honeydukes, knowing how much her mother loved chocolate, when she caught a glimpse of someone that she hadn't seen since the war. He was gone as quick as he'd appeared, but she knew that the man she'd seen reflected in the glass was Travers.

* * *

Bellatrix was sitting in the high backed chair that she'd found in the back of the warehouse. She knew that they had to wait for the right time before they could snatch the girl but she was starting to get antsy. She wished they could go straight for Potter, but knew that the girl would hit him where it hurts. Plus with Potter living behind the wards at the ancestral Black manor she knew there was no way that she would be able to get in. Also if the Prophet were to be believed she was the bastard child of her bloody ex-husband and a squib of her own house.

* * *

"So Jean, Richard what do the two of you do for a living?" Meissa asked.

"We're both certified Orthodontists, we have our own practice." Richard said, giving his wife a proud look.

"Do you think that working with each other is hard on your relationship?"

"I thought that it might be at first, when we decided to get the practice. Just because I figured if we ended up spending all day and all night together that he would get bored with me. However, we're both pretty busy for most of the day, so we don't see each other much. Unless it involves lunch dates in the parking lot."

Richard wiped his mouth off. "What about you Meissa? Do you work?"

"Most of the work that I do is freelance," Meissa started. "I'm a book critic, so in between books I have a lot of free time. I'm a fairly fast reader so even when I've got a pile of books I can spend time taking care of the house and what not."

"And you Rodolphus?" Richard asked.

"I've actually got a couple of interviews set up for next week. I've finally been able to get all of the residue of the spells, potions, and enchantments that I was under out of my system, but it's brought to mind a few mysteries. For instance, I have absolutely no idea what I might be good at. Or how I'd want to spend my time when I'm not here with my darling wife."

Hermione was listening to the conversation, pleased that the four of them got along. "Rodolphus, if you'd like, I know some people who have a variety of different jobs. You could probably intern with them in their work places."

"Are you referring to the Weasley's?" Severus questioned.

"Yes. Arthur is fairly high up in the Ministry. Bill is a curse breaker with Gringotts, Charlie works with Dragons, and both are very well respected in their fields. Percy isn't much more than a professional ass kisser," Severus's drink spat out of his mouth. "Fred and George own their own chain of joke shops. Ron manages the one in Diagon Alley. We're friends with Kingsley and he's at the top of the Auror chain of command."

"Hermione Jean, don't use that kind of language!" Jean replied.

Hermione smiled at her mom and lightly caressed her stomach. "Sorry mum." She turned back to Rodolphus. "Also, Harry is kind of known as the savior of our world, so he could get you in with a Occupation Counselor who could help you figure out what you wanted to do."

Rodolphus frowned. "Counselor? Like a therapist?"

Hermione opened her mouth to dispute that when a hard voice from her side beat her to it. "No, not like a therapist, though I'd dare say you need one of those as well. Counselor as in somebody who will help you realize what you're good at besides torture and killing."

Jean, Richard, and Meissa got very quiet. "Severus!" Hermione snapped. "Don't speak to him like that."

Rodolphus ignored the small hand that squeezed his own as he set down his napkin on the table. "No it's all right child. I know that Severus doesn't like m-."

"Of course I don't bloody like you!" Severus sneered. "I don't trust you to be around my wife, and I don't trust you enough to even be able to think about allowing you around my children."

"And what if I said that I don't trust you with my daughter Severus? I know that your hatred of me is borne on the way I acted while I was under someone else's control. I know that I did some horrible things, most of which I will never be able to forget, and will regret until I die. But need I remind you that you did the same things, without the spells, potions, and enchantments to make you do them?"

"So you're saying that I wanted to do those things?" Severus's sneer had morphed to a snarl.

"If you're going to vilify me for my crimes, I'm going to give as good as I get. So how about you tell my daughter about Carlina Finnegan."

Severus's face went pale. "How dare you!"

"If you didn't want to do it, explain the erection!"

Meissa lunged out of the way when Severus leapt over the table. Hermione threw up a barrier around her parents so that they couldn't be harmed before turning to the other two men. "Severus stop it right now!" She cried out, stepping forward until Meissa grabbed her arm to hold her back.

"YOU KNOW THAT I WOULD HAVE DIED HAD I NOT DONE WHAT I DID!" Severus bellowed.

"KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT SEVERUS!" Rodolphus replied,

"Rodo!" Meissa called to try and break the two of them up, but she was paid no mind either.

The two men rolled around fighting on the floor, ignoring the build up of power until Hermione screamed. "Stop it!" The blast of power separated them as Hermione turned to her parents. "Mum, dad, I'll see the two of you later." She gav0e them each a hug and kiss on the cheek before turning to Meissa. "I'm terribly sorry that my obnoxious husband felt the need to disrupt our meal. It was lovely seeing you again mum." Turning a deadly glare on her husband, "I'm going home you big buffoon." To her father, "I'm sorry."

* * *

 _Headmistress,_

 _I don't want to say that I'm moving out, but I would like to see if you would have a suite prepared for me. Severus and I have been having problems. I'm sure you remember the invitation to Meissa and Rodolphus's that we'd received yesterday. Severus caused a huge scene, and got into a fight with Rodolphus._

 _I love him dearly, but he's been getting so angry recently. I don't know what else to do. We've hardly spoken since he arrived home from my parents._

 _Please don't say anything to him Minerva._

 _Hermione_

Folding the letter up, and placing in an envelope, Hermione gave the letter to one of the school owls that were spread around the Owlery. "Please take this to Headmistress McGonagall."

Leaving the Owlery, she made her way to a place that she had spent most of her time in her early years at Hogwarts. When she entered the Library, she ignored the looks she got. People had noticed that she had been distancing herself from Severus. Walking behind the counter, she pulled out the box that had old newspapers in it from '70-'85. "Hello Professor Snape." The girl that she was training greeted her.

"Hello Miss Sampson, how are things running today?"

"Not bad. I had to run off a couple of third year Gryffindors who thought it would be funny to try and sneak in food."

"Let me know if you have any problems from them."

"Is there anything in particular that you're looking for Professor?"

"I'm looking for mentions of a woman from what I'm assuming was during the first war."

"Do you know what happened to her? Or what her name was?"

"Carlina Finnegan, and I don't know what happened, that's what I'm trying to find out."

Tapping the box with her wand, Pam called out, "Accio Reports on Carlina Finnegan."

The paper didn't fly out of the box Hermione had expected it would. She expected it would be a Daily Prophet article, but it ended up coming out of a muggle paper box.

 **CARLINA FINNEGAN FOUND DEAD!**

" _You can imagine the upset that finding the innocent childs dead body in the wood." Family spokesperson said. "While the autopsy has yet to be completed, Police have released a statement asking for any information on the monster who hurt the child. Let us all have a moment of silence for the poor 7 year old girl, who was taken from us far too early. Let us pray for her soul."_

Hermione forced herself to stop reading the paper. "Pam, I need to take this with me."

"Of course Professor. I'll place a marker in the box to let you know where to put it back."

"Thank you." She replied absentminded as she walked out of the library.

* * *

Severus approached the joint quarters that he shared with Hermione with a great deal of trepidation. He knew that he had acted like an imbecile at her.. parents. He opened the door to find her knitting what looked like a pair of booties. "Darling, how was your day?"

She looked up at him with guarded eyes. "Very busy, and yours?"

"Dunderheads, the lot of them. Darren Parkinson was the first Slytherin I've had to deduct points from in years."

She snorted and smiled, and he felt a bit relieved. "Why did you deduct points from him?"

"He wouldn't stop glaring at me. He sat and let his partner do the potion by themselves and sneered at me when I told him if he didn't help he'd get a detention."

Her eyebrows raised. "He's been on his best behavior around me."

"May I sit beside you?" He asked.

"Of course, these quarters are just as much yours as they are mine."

He sat beside her. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for?"

"Dearest, you've never been able to hide when you're upset. I know that the way that I acted at your parents was completely unacceptable."

"Yes it was," she replied, not turning away from her knitting. "I expect you to write letters of apology to Meissa and Rodolphus as well as my parents."

"I do not want to apologi-." He stopped when she looked at him.

"Severus, you _will_ apologize to Rodolphus. I do not care about your reasonings and why you do not want to do it. You've embarrassed the both of us in front of my parents." Her tone left no room for argument.

"Okay love, I'll do it." He agreed, taking her hand. "Would you like to go out this weekend?"

"Well, I'm having lunch with Ginny on Saturday, and Molly is having a dinner for everybody Sunday evening. But we could go out Saturday night."

"Okay darling. I'll plan something romantic for us." Not sure if she would allow it, since she was still angry, he tentatively leaned forward for a kiss.

She tenderly caressed the side of his face and kissed him.

* * *

Later that night she walked towards the Room of Requirement, which miraculously was still accessible after the fire. Harry and Ron were already there, and the door was waiting for her when she got to the corridor. "Sorry I'm late," she said as she entered. They put up several privacy charms.

"It's fine. I've got some new information." Harry said, sitting back in his chair, waiting for Hermione to get comfortable before beginning. "The Unspeakables have spoken to me, and confirmed that the diary was indeed a horcrux. There was enough latent magic to confirm that it held a piece of someones soul."

"Were you able to talk to the family about potential enemies yet?"

"Yes, apparently there was an old family member who was very angry that he didn't get an inheritance. His father had broken a marriage contract to marry a muggle and got disowned. He swore retribution when Charles was named head of the family."

"Who was it?"

"Frank Travers." Hermione froze.

"Travers?" She questioned, paling.

"Yes." Harry and Ron both looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"It could be nothing, but when I was going down to Hogsmeade to get something to take to my parents, I could have sworn I saw his reflection in the glass in front of Honeydukes."

Getting serious Harry leaned forward. "Have you seen him any more times?"

"No, that was the first time that I'd seen him since Gringotts." She replied, grinning as she remembered their escape by dragon.

"If you see him again tell me immediately. Do you want me to arrange for an auror guard in case he's following you?"

"No, that would make Severus suspicious, and we still don't have any hard evidence."

Ron frowned. "I don't know 'Mione, with the box, and the book being confirmed as a used Horcrux, I think it would be okay to tell him. Especially if Travers was the one to give it to that boy. He could be working with Bellatrix."

"They have no reason to come after me, I don't think that he needs to know yet."

"Bellatrix might be after you because you're Rodolphus's daughter." Harry replied beginning to seriously consider whether or not Hermione was in danger.

"We'll worry about that when we need to. For now, let's move on." She said, effectively ending the conversation.

"Okay, so we've got it confirmed that the diary was a horcrux, and with the inscription, and Bellatrix's signature appearing on the box, it's a very good educated guess to assume that it was her horcrux." Ron supplied, covering what they knew so far.

Harry nodded, "She's yet to be sighted, and most of the Aurors blew off the Unspeakables, so unless she comes into view we're probably not going to have their support."

"She's going to have to do something soon. Besides the attempt on the minister, she hasn't made any moves since she got back." Hermione frowned in contemplation. "Harry have you told Ginny?"

"No, I didn't want to bring it up to her since she very nearly lost her life from a Horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets." Harry leaned back in his chair and looked into his glass. "Speaking of Ginny, she is really looking forward to this Saturday. We've both been kind of depressed recently."

"Again, I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how you two must be feeling."

Ron put his hand on Harry's shoulder in comfort as Hermione moved to sit on the couch beside them. "I know that she wasn't far along, and that I didn't know about the baby for more than a couple of weeks, but it's.. I've always dreamed of having a family of my own, and I was so excited. I loved our baby already, and now.." Harry broke out in sobs.

"Harry I have no doubt in my mind that you two will have children. Things will get better."

"When? We've just been avoiding the topic since it happened."

"On Sunday, before dinner, you two should talk to mom and dad. They've had a couple of miscarriages, we never knew. Bill and Charlie did, but all of the rest of us didn't."

"Really?"

"Yeah. One in between Charlie and Percy, and another between the twins and me. Mum said with me and Gin she had a lot of complications." Ron looked between the two of them. "Just talk to them on Sunday. They might be able to talk to you guys."

* * *

 **What did you think?**


	21. Chapter Twenty

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,193**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 40,095**_

 _This chapter is a little bit shorter, but if everything goes as planned the next chapter will be a decent size._

 _ **~Enjoy**_

 **Chapter Twenty**

"Professor Snape?" Darren asked, approaching her desk as the rest of the class trickled out.

"Yes Mr. Parkinson?" She replied, smiling warmly at him.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior towards you at the beginning of the year."

"It's all forgiven Mr. Parkinson." She set a couple of papers off to the side and stood from her chair, slightly caressing her stomach. "You should head down to the Great Hall, it's nearing lunch time."

"May I escort you there?" He asked, as he picked up his bag.

"Sure, why not." She responded, opening the door for him, and warding it shut behind them.

"Ma'am, is your husband hurting you?" He asked as they walked through the empty corridors.

"Mr. Parkinson, where would you get that idea?" She asked, shocked at the question that came out of the blue.

"My eldest sister Naomi was abused by her husband, he nearly killed her. I've noticed in class that the Professor has had a short temper as of late. I saw that the two of you quarreled the other day."

"Mr. Parkin-."

"You may call me Darren if you'd like."

"Thank you. Darren, I assure you that my husband is not hurting me."

"Do you have anything in place in case that he does?" He asked as they approached the Grand Staircase. Since they were passing a few students, she just nodded at him. "Very well. Now, I didn't name the either of you when I spoke to my parents, but I asked for their help on the chance that you need to escape. They gave me a portkey that I could give you, and told me that the activation code is "Cherokee Rose"."

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but when she realized how concerned this child was, brother of a girl who'd tormented her through school, she let out a few tears. Reaching a hand out and accepting the bracelet, she murmured, "Thank you Darren, though I assure you that I won't need it."

He nodded at her, mask sliding into place as they got to the Great Hall. "You're welcome ma'am. And for the record, Naomi never thought that she would need hers either." He walked away towards his table as she walked to hers.

"What did the young Mr. Parkinson want?" Minerva asked.

"He apologized for his behavior at the beginning of the year and gave me a present." She looked around and didn't see Severus approaching yet, and looked up at Minerva, quickly casting a silent ' _Muffliato'_. "Minerva, I was wondering if you'd received my letter?"

She nodded, looking around and realizing that nobody was paying attention to them. "Did you cast a privacy spell dear?"

"Yes."

"I did receive your letter, and have arranged for a suite of rooms to be prepared for you. It's fairly basic, but it's got a room for you, and a small nursery if you're still there after you have the baby."

Tears gathered in Hermione eyes again. "I'm sorry I had to ask. Mr. Parkinson gave me an emergency portkey to his home. He said his older sister was abused, not Pansy, and that he wanted me to have a way out in case I needed it."

Minerva smiled at the boy in question before turning back to her. "I've had reports from most of his Professors that he is much better behaved than Pansy was."

"I agree. I got some attitude from him at the beginning, but he's done a complete 180 in regards to me. Though Severus said that he had some problems from him recently."

Minerva nodded, before looking at something behind her. "Severus is coming my dear."

Hermione waved her wand to release the silencing spell, greeting her husband as he approached.

* * *

"I think that she's seen me my lady." Travers said, voice dripping in reverence, though he was slightly worried about her reaction. They weren't planning to be sighted yet.

Bellatrix grinned somewhat maniacally though. "That's good. Did you send her the box of newspaper clippings?"

"Yes. She received those earlier this month."

"I think on the 13th of next month we should attack some muggles. The fourteenth wouldn't have a very romantic feel to it after an entire village is slaughtered in their sleep now would it?"

"Not at all my dear. I think that is a wonderful plan."

"What have I told you about speaking to me like that you bloody imbecile?" She screeched, shooting out a cutting curse at him, slashing his cheek open.

"Sorry my liege," he replied, groaning at the fiery look she was giving him. "I couldn't stop myself."

"Try harder next time." She sneered, moving to leave the warehouse.

"Where are you going my lady?" He called after.

"I'm going to find some helpless muggles to bring here to torture."

* * *

Rodolphus and Meissa were sitting around the living room, curled up on the couch. "I remember reading about a Carlina Finnegan. So she was killed with magic?"

"Darling, I don't think you want to hear about it." He replied, kissing her on the head. "I really should not have brought it to him. If Severus had not done what he did, he would have been murdered. I've also read the reports about him being a spy, so not only would he have been killed, but the light side would have lost their eyes and ears in the Death Eaters meetings."

"Tell me Rodo. I want to know."

"The Dark Lord was going through a paranoid phase, and though it turns out he was right to doubt Severus's loyalty, at a meeting he called Severus out and told him he had a gift for the dour man. Severus responded with gratitude, and the Dark Lord had a house elf bring the girl out. Severus was ordered to take out his sexua-."

"I don't want to hear any more." She cried, covering her ears.

"Severus later told me that he'd cast a spell on the child that made her comatose before doing some complicated magic that made it look as if she'd been assaulted. I never believed him while I was under _their_ control, but now, realizing what kind of a man he is, I do." He looked over at the table where the apology letter from Severus was laying face up. "It seems that I owe him an apology."

"Maybe the two of you could try to meet up and get over your differences." Meissa suggested.

"I don't know how well that would work darling." He responded, nuzzling her hair.

"We've missed out on so much of her life. Maybe if I had taken her in when I recovered after my coma, things would be different. I want us to be able to build a good relationship with her and Severus. I cried when she called me mum, even though she probably didn't realize that she had."

"I'll try my dear, though I can't make any promises as to how it will turn out."

* * *

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I have here the paperwork you would need to fill out for Minerva so that you can cover my 4-7_ _th_ _year classes. I know that you've already got a lot on your plate, but I want you to know that I'm very grateful that you'd be willing to help me out._

 _Hermione_

* * *

The noise and bustle of the muggle restaurant was almost calming for Ginny as she waited for Hermione to arrive. Ginny had gotten there earlier than they had agreed upon, wanting to get out of the house. She still felt distraught over the baby, and kept having to stop herself from caressing her stomach. "I'm so sorry that I'm late." Hermione said, sitting down in the chair opposite her.

"You're not late, I got here very early."

"How have you been?"

Ginny looked despondently at the tablecloth. "I.. it's hard. We.. were so excited."

Mistaking her pause Hermione reached across the table and placed her hand over Ginny's. "We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to."

"I actually think that I need to talk about it. I don't want to weigh Harry down with my feelings over it when he gets off of work at the Ministry."

Flashing back to the conversation that the trio had in the Room of Requirement, Hermione couldn't help but think of how perfect Ginny and Harry were together. "You know that Harry recently had a very similar conversation with Ron and I?"

Their waitress came up and took their orders before Ginny answered. "You don't have to answer me, Harry kind of just changes the subject when I ask about it. What do you guys keep meeting about?"

Hermione contemplated how to answer the question. "I would tell you, but I understand Harry's reason behind why he hasn't. Did he ever tell you what we were doing during what would have been our seventh year when we were on the run?"

"Are your meetings about something similar to that? He never gave me exact details. Are you guys doing anything dangerous? Does Severus know?"

"No, Severus doesn't know. Let me think of how to explain this. If you look at it one way, when we were on the run, we were gathering… information that would help us to defeat Voldemort. Right now, we're just gathering information, and I'm waiting for the metaphorical Escape from Gringotts before I tell Severus. I figure it's a fair assumption that Harry is doing the same for you."

"Does this gathering of information have anything to do with the attack on the Minister?" Ginny asked.

"While the attack was important, what we've spoken about, is _who_ perpetrated it. We've got odds and ends of evidence, but we don't know why they did it."

"Why are you and Ron involved with this? Why not the aurors?"

"Because the aurors scoffed at the residue magical signature that was found on the box that held the potion that was the attack."

"Whose magical signature was it?"

"I've probably told you far more than Harry would have liked, so please forgive me when I say I can't tell you any more than that."

The waitress brought their food and drinks over, but neither of them touched their food yet. "Please tell me if I need to be worried." Ginny pleaded.

"I don't think you need to w-." Hermione froze, looking down at her stomach, and putting a hand over it.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, getting up and walking around to Hermione's side of the table. Hermione grabbed her hand and placed it against her belly. It took a moment, but Ginny felt a slight bump against her hand. "Is that?"

"The baby is kicking!" Hermione grinned, catching the glimpse of sadness in Ginny's eyes as the redhead looked at her.

"I so wish that I'd have had the opportunity to feel my baby." Voice quivering with awe.

"Gin, Harry has always wanted a family of his own. I have no doubt that the two of you will have multiple children."

Smiling, Ginny focused on the light bumping against her hand. "I sure hope so."

* * *

"Will there be anything else sir?" The sales clerk asked him.

"No, thank you though." Severus replied as he picked up his bag and walked to the exit.

He knew that they still had several months until the baby was due, but with the recent problems he and Hermione had been having, he wanted to get some stuff to show her that he cared about their child. He'd also made reservations for their date tonight. Walking to a deserted alley, he made sure that nobody was watching before turning on the spot to apparate to the gates of Hogwarts. Swiftly making his way through the corridors before arriving at his home, he observed several students walking throughout the school. Quickly muttering the password, he entered his quarters to see his lovely wife sitting on the couch and reading a book. "Hello Darling, I bought some things that I think you will like."

"Should I look at them now, or when we get back from dinner?"

"Now please." He replied, excited about her reaction.

She opened the bag and gasped at what she saw. At the top was a fuzzy teddy bear, and beneath it were a few onesies along with a wrapped package. She pulled each onesie out one at a time, oohing and ahhing, before she pulled out the wrapped package. "Is this a book?"

He'd sat down beside her when he handed her the back and nodded. "You'll have to open it to see."

Hermione pulled the paper off, and uncovered a baby book. "It's beautiful Severus."

"It has a few pages that you can fill out before the baby is born. If we decide to find out what the babies sex is, there's a spot for that. There's a spot for the name. There's-"

"It's lovely Severus, I can't wait to get started on it when we get home tonight. Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

He gave her a light kiss on her lips, "that would ruin the surprise darling."

* * *

 _ **Just in case there is concern about it, Severus will NOT be abusive. I don't want to spoil anything, but there will be a very big argument in the next chapter that causes her to use the rooms she had Minerva set up for a while. Don't worry though, they'll make up before too long. I hope you liked it.**_


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 3,748**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 43,843**_

 _I know I updated just a few days ago, but work begins again tomorrow so I figured I would go ahead and upload this because writing time will be sporadic again. Sorry._

 _ **~Enjoy**_

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

 _Severus,_

 _I'm sorry that I brought up Carlina. I know that I was in the wrong. When it happened, I'd never believed you when you said that you had used magic to make it seem as if she'd been tortured. After meeting you under these different circumstances with Hermione, and really getting to know that you're a good man. I'm sorry that I didn't ever really give you a chance to prove yourself a good husband to my daughter. But I would like to try and help that, by giving you my blessing to be with my daughter._

 _Rodolphus Lestrange_

* * *

Harry and Ginny were the first two of 'the children' to arrive at the burrow, and they were grateful about it. "Molly and Arthur," Harry began after being seated in the sitting room, warm cup of tea in his hand. "I was wondering if we could talk to you about something personal."

Arthur and Molly shared a look before holding each other's hand. "What is it son?"

"I know that it might not be something you're willing to talk about, but how did you get through your miscarriages?" Ginny looked over to him in shock.

Molly got up and got two books off of the mantel above the fireplace. "I was hoping that you would ask us about that." She handed a book to each of them. "Arthur and I agreed that you could read these."

Harry opened the one he'd been given. "Is this a journal?"

"We actually went to a therapist after the first miscarriage, and she suggested we each write our thoughts out in the journal throughout the week, and at the end of the week we let each other read what we'd written to help us understand what the other is feeling." Molly told them.

"I thought it was silly." Arthur said, "but I didn't realize just how much trouble we were having talking with each other about it. We already had Bill and Charlie, so without realizing we weren't talking to each other, and we were burying ourselves in work. I in the office, and Mollywobbles with the children and keeping the house. She got very adventurous with her cooking in that time."

Ginny was looking between her parents. "I never knew."

"We didn't want to burden you children about it. The rest only found out the day that you had your own." Molly replied, wiping a tear away.

Ginny ran her hand over the cover of the book that she'd been handed. "Thank you guys. We haven't really been able to talk about it with each other." She looked up at Harry. "Talking a little with Hermione yesterday did help."

Harry gripped her hand in his. "We'll try this out, hopefully it will help us."

"You're always at work though." Ginny pointed out. "I hardly see you."

"I actually asked Kingsley if I could work from home for a while."

"You love your job though."

"I'm still going to be working. Hermione's progessed far enough in her pregnancy that she's no longer able to teach later years of DADA due to the potential damage some of the spells could cause. I've got the paperwork with me for her to take back to McGonagall for her to present to the board for approval to be a temporary Professor."

* * *

The twins and Ron arrived next. Ron was grumpy about the argument that he'd had with Draco that morning.

" _Good Morning." Draco sighed from beside him on the bed, before leaning over and pressing a kiss against his lips._

" _Mmm. Good Morning."_

" _So what are the plans today?" He asked, laying his head on Ron's chest._

" _Well, I've got to go to my parents for a family lunc-."_

 _Draco rolled to the side and sat up on the edge of the bed. "So since this is the first time that I've heard about it I'm guessing that I'm not invited."_

" _Draco, I-."_

" _Am I not good enough to meet your family?"_

" _Why would you think that?"_

" _Because I haven't yet. You've met my parents officially, outside of the petty squabbles from the war, I've not yet been able to meet your family. Where do you expect this relationship to go?"_

" _Are you questioning our relationship now? Do you not want to be with me anymore?"_

" _OF COURSE I WANT TO BE WITH YOU, BUT YOU'RE CONTINUOUSLY MAKING ME QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT TO BE WITH ME!" Draco yelled._

" _I love you Draco, but I don't think my parents are going to be happy about us being together."_

" _DO YOU THINK THAT I WAS READY FOR MY PARENTS TO FIND OUT? I WAS TERRIFIED THAT I WAS GOING TO BE DISOWNED AND BLASTED OFF THE BLOODY FAMILY TREE JUST FOR COMING OUT OF THE METAPHORICAL CLOSET!"_

" _It's different."_

" _YES IT IS DIFFERENT! MY FAMILY WERE IN THE DARK LORD'S SERVICE, AND YOUR FAMILY WERE WITH THE GOOD GUYS!" They were both breathing heavily, standing on opposite sides of the bed, fists clenched and staring at each other. "My parents accepted you, why won't you give me the same opportunity with your parents?"_

 _Ron slowly walked around the bed and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, and placed his head against the heaving chest. "Please Draco, just give me a little bit of time. I promise that it won't be too much longer."_

" _I'm so tired of hiding my love for you."_

Draco had taken the first shower, and by the time Ron was done with his own Draco was gone. "Ron, how are you doing?" Harry asked, approaching with his arms open for a hug.

"Terrible!" He replied, hugging his friend. "I got in a fight with D-.. my boyfriend this morning."

"What about?" Harry questioned, "last we talked about it everything was going great."

"He got angry because I haven't brought him around to introduce him to the family."

Molly, catching the end of the conversation walked up and hugged him. "What's the hold up on that dear?" She replied. "Why haven't we met your beau?"

"I'm just worried that you'll be angry once you find out who he is."

The door opened again and Bill and Fleur entered with a baby who was tightly bundled in blankets. "Bonjour la famille." Fleur said brightly, taking off her coat, and taking back Victoire so Bill could do the same with his own. "Oo would like to hold the baby."

Ginny approached. "May I?"

"Of course mon chéri." Fleur replied, holding her daughter out towards her sister in law.

Ginny held the baby against her chest. "She's beautiful you two."

"Thanks Gin-Gin." Bill told her, putting his arm around Fleurs waist after giving the family hugs. "How are you doing?"

Ginny looked over at Harry, to see him smiling at her as she held Victoire. "It's still hard," the room got quiet. "Sometimes it just takes my breath away, but it gets a little bit easier everyday. Talking about what happened helps."

Molly was bustling at the stove, when she turned around and asked the room, "does anybody know if Percy is bringing his girlfriend?"

"Audrey? Yes, I think he is." George said.

Fred grinned, "he was really excited about something. He said he had something planned."

Molly looked between the two of them. "How long have they been dating now?"

"About four years. They got together the year before the battle."

Looking to Arthur their mother grasped her hands and chirbled, "maybe he's going to propose. Wouldn't that be lovely Arthur?"

"It would. If only Charlie was going to be here for it."

"We'll be sure to take pictures and send them to him." Turning back to the stove, Molly called out. "Fred go get the camera!"

There was a light knock on the door, before it opened again, revealing Hermione and Severus. "Hello everyone." Hermione greeted. "Are we the last to arrive?"

"No, Percy is bringing his girlfriend and we're hoping that he is proposing to her tonight." Bill told her. "How have you guys been doing?" He asked, shaking Severus's hand in greeting.

"Oh we had a lovely date last night, and you should see the baby book he bought for us." Hermione told them as they moved away from the door. "We went to this charming little restaurant in Nottingham called Petit Paris, and then we toured the Tigguo Cobauc, also known as the City of Caves. It was amazing."

"Is everything all right Severus?" Harry asked, as the dour man seemed oddly quiet.

"Yes, I'm just.. thinking." He replied, though truthfully his mind was on the letter that he'd received that morning. He hadn't mentioned it to Hermione, but he was planning on it when they got home.

Percy and Audrey came in not far behind them. "Hello everybody, this is my girlfriend Audrey Shepherd."

"Hello everybody!" She said brightly, waving at every one.

"Well aren't you lovely," Molly said, waving her wand to keep the food cooking on the stove. She walked over to Percy and Audrey and pulled them into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you!"

"Thank you! I wish we'd been able to meet sooner, but with getting the approval and funds to start the Department of Child Welfare, and then finding staff and getting everything that needed done done, I haven't had a lot of free time."

"I think that's just what we needed. I think it will make a lot of difference." Hermione said, reaching out to shake Audrey's hand. "What are your departments main goals?"

"Well, starting with home visits at the first act of accidental magic, we want to make sure that every child, born within and outside of the magical world who has been blessed with magical gifts, has a loving home. Muggleborns will get bi-annual checks for stable home lives. When students reach the age of beginning magical school, we're going to implement a policy that all first-year students have to undergo an in-depth medical check to help us find any children who were abused at home."

Hermione had bristled at the Muggleborns comment. "The in-depth check is for muggleborns as well as pure-bloods right?"

Audrey looked stricken. "Of course, I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you Hermione. I know that you were raised by muggles, but the reality of it is that not all muggles are as accepting as your parents were. Did you know that every year, between three to five muggleborns are murdered by their parents or guardians?"

Hermione's hands covered her mouth. "What?"

"The home inspections will be done with all magical children, no matter their blood status. We're even talking about the possibility of giving early introductions to the magical world, and distributing books to those raised by muggles about the world they're going to be entering."

"That would have been nice." Hermione said, still reeling about the information regarding muggles killing their children due to magic. "I mean, since my birthday was after the cut off, I had nearly a year to prepare, but I know someone who's birthday was the last day before the cut off at the end of July, who barely had a month to prepare."

Harry smiled. "Yeah, that was a bit of an adjustment, Hagrid showing up and saying 'yer a wizard Harry'."

"Well, the food is just about ready, so why doesn't everybody take a seat at the table." Molly supplied, trying to get off of the subject to avoid arguments.

Fleur walked over to where Ginny was standing and reached out to take back Victoire, who had begun getting fussy. "Here Ginny, let me take her, she's probably getting hungry."

"Thank you for letting me hold her." Ginny said.

"You're welcome Ginny." Fleur replied.

"You know, I'm not trying to be rude dear, but your English has gotten so much better Fleur." Molly told her.

"Thank you maman, I'm going to feed Victoire in the sitting room for a little bit of privacy."

"Dear, I'm sure nobody minds if you do that in here. It's only natural after all."

Fleur looked around unsure. "If it would not make anybody uncomfortable I suppose?"

"It'll be okay darling, all of us but Ginny probably remember seeing mum breastfeed at the table."

Ron shook his head. "I don't, I wouldn't have been very old."

Fleur sat down in the chair beside Bill, and discretely pulled her flowy blouse out enough that she could hold Victoire to her breast, looking down the loose top until she confirmed that her daughter latched on. "Is everybody sure that this is okay?"

"Of course." Everybody said together, before chuckling.

Percy steeled himself and stood up. "Before dinner begins, I have something I'd like to say to someone very important."

The room went silent and turned to him, everybody was waiting in anticipation. "Go on then." George prodded as Fred readied the camera under the table.

Percy looked to Audrey. "Audrey, dearest, we met when there was a war raging outside. You were there even when I was being a pompous fool. You've stuck by my side through my worst days, and I know that I want to stick by yours for the rest of our lives." He dropped down to one knee. "Audrey, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. George had snapped several photos already, and sat the camera on the table in case there were any more moments that they were going to send to Charlie.

As soon as the food was done, Molly used a levitation charm to get the food to the table. "Food is ready everybody."

Ron looked around at his family. "ImdatingthesonofaformerDeathEater." He blurted out, drawing all eyes to him.

"Come again?"

"I'm dating the son of a Death Eater." He repeated, slower this time, trying to gauge their reactions.

Molly and Arthur shared a look. "We know how you were raised Ronald, and we know that if this man you're dating wasn't a good guy that you wouldn't be with him. We trust your judgment."

"I don't thin-…. What?" Ron had been ready to argue his case, but his mothers words shocked him.

"Darling, if he wasn't a man worth loving, you wouldn't be with him. The war was stressful for everybody, and a lot of people made some stupid and reckless mistakes. What happened in the past is no longer important, as long as he is treating you right."

Ron smiled. "He is. I've even met with his parents."

"You've met with his parents and you haven't brought him over here yet?"

Ron looked down. "I'm worried about your reaction to him."

"Well as long as it's not Voldemort himself I don't see how bad he could be."

Ron flashed back to all of the times that his father had gotten into fights with Lucius. "I also wonder how you'll react to his parents."

Harry grinned, "I think it will be okay mate. When are we doing the next one of these?"

"We'll plan for two weeks from now since everybody's schedules are pretty busy." Molly said, as everybody began eating.

Fleur didn't know why, but she felt an odd sense of forboding. She excused herself long enough to place Victoire on the couch after burping her, and casting a few nursery charms that kept her from rolling off of the couch and alert her when the baby woke up. She took her seat again and had just began eating when Hermione grabbed ahold of Severus's hand and placed it on her stomach. "What are you doing woman?"

"Just wait." She told him, before moving his hand slightly to the right.

He opened his mouth to speak before getting a funny look on his face. "Is that what I think it is?"

"That's our baby."

The people who hadn't been around the couple much were shocked to see Severus's lips twist into a smile. "That's our baby." He knelt to the floor and placed both hands on her stomach. "Is this the first time you've felt the baby move?"

"I've felt this almost bubbly sensation for the last couple of weeks. It wasn't until lunch time yesterday that I realized it was the baby kicking."

"Why didn't you mention yesterday?" He asked softly, not wanting to start an argument.

"Ginny could only feel him for a moment. I didn't want to tell you and have you get disappointed that he stopped kicking."

"He?" Severus questioned. "Did you fin-."

"I don't know for sure yet, but I keep having dreams of a little boy running around so I think we're going to be having a boy."

Just as Severus was getting back into his chair Harry asked Hermione a question as he handed her an envelope. "Hermione, I know that for now I'll just be covering 4th to 7th year classes, but I was wondering if after you have the baby, whether I would be covering 1st to 3rd as well?"

"Potter is covering your classes? Why?"

"After the last appointment with the OB Healer, when you had to leave early, I was told that after the sixth month I wouldn't be able to teach my later classes. Did I-."

"You didn't think that would be pertinent information for me to know?"

"I thought I told you, that day.." she paused, remembering the argument they'd had that night after the appointment. "I'm sorry it must have slipped my mind."

"Slipped your mind? That you could be endangering both yourself and our child by teaching your later classes?" He asked coldly.

"Severus please, let's not argue here. This is a celebrati-."

"No, you went behind my back to ask Potter to cover your classes. You didn't tell me about the fact you couldn't be teaching the later ones at all. How dare you put yourself in harms way like that!"

"Severus, there was no harm to either of us! I've been using the spells the Healer suggested until I was able to find a suitable substitute!"

"Oh, you've been using spells to protect yourself. You couldn't even tell me that much." He sneered, before taking a bit out of a chicken leg from his plate.

Hermione, having had enough, wiped her mouth and stood from her seat. "Molly, Arthur, the meal was lovely. Percy and Audrey, congratulations. Harry, yes, after I have the baby I would need you to cover all of the classes for the remainder of the school year. I hope everybody has a wonderful rest of their day." Wandlessly summoning her coat to her she stormed out of the door, leaving the room in silence.

Severus swallowed the food in his mouth, before he also wiped his mouth and stood. "Thank you for having us." He said, before following his wife out.

* * *

The moment Hermione arrived back at the school she made her way to Minerva's office. "Headmistress?"

"Come in please." Minerva called, and motioned her to sit down.

"Minerva," Hermione started after shutting the door, placing her hands on the back of the chair and standing behind it. "I need you to tell me where the set of rooms you set up for me are, I fear that I may need them after tonight."

Minerva gave Hermione her full attention. "Has he hurt you?"

"Severus wouldn't hurt me, but I do not know if we'll be able to make it out of this argument with our marriage fully intact."

* * *

Hermione wasn't in their quarters for more than a couple of minutes before Severus arrived. She was sitting in a chair by the fireplace. "Why wouldn't you tell me that you were in danger?"

"I'm not in any dang-."

"If you weren't in danger, then there shouldn't be a reason that you can no longer teach your advanced classes."

"You know that sixth years have started learning wordless spell casting. Fourth years begin learning about the unforgivables. I'm removing myself from danger before it becomes an issue."

"Why wouldn't you tell me?"

With incredible difficulty, she stood from her chair. "I was going to tell you when I got home, but you started on me about my parents, and made me so angry that it slipped my mind."

"Yet you remembered well enough to begin casting protection spells on yourself?"

"You act like more than a day has gone by without us arguing about one thing or another. Most commonly my father!"

"So this is all my fault? I think I have legitimate concerns about your father."

"NO YOU DON'T! YOU WON'T GIVE YOURSELF THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW HIM WITH OUT HIM BEING UNDER SOMEONE ELSE'S CONTROL!"

"CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT HIM COMING INTO YOUR LIFE HAS DONE TO US?!"

"CAN'T YOU? I'VE LIVED MY LIFE BEING AN ORPHAN AND NOW I FINALLY KNOW WHO I AM!" Severus opened his mouth to reply, but Hermione blazed forward. "DON'T ACT LIKE WE HAVEN'T BEEN HAVING THESE PROBLEMS ONLY SINCE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT I'M A LESTRANGE!"

"YOU ARE NOT A LESTRANGE!"

"ACCORDING TO MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE I AM!"

"YOU'RE NOT A LESTRANGE! LESTRANGE'S ARE EVIL! THEY MURDER PEOPLE WHO ARE SIMPLY STANDING IN THEIR WA-."

Hermione flinched as if she'd been struck. "People are not born evil, they are taught evil, just as they are taught to love." Hermione waved her wand in the direction of the bedroom, and Severus frowned when he heard the dresser drawers and wardrobe doors opening.

"Where are you going?"

"I've arranged to have a room prepared for myself." She began to cry. "Besides our date yesterday, we haven't been able to have a civil conversation in nearly a month. We argue everyday, and I can't take it anymore."

"You're leaving me?" He asked, breathless.

"I just think that we need to spend some time away from each other. We'll still see each other, but all of this stress isn't good for the baby." Her bags entered the room and sat beside her feet.

"Please, don't leave." He said, desperately taking a step towards her.

She held her hand up to stop him, tears running down her face. "Please, don't make this any harder than it already is." She said, levitating her bags to the door, following behind them. Before opening it though, she turned around to look at him. "I love you."

The door opened, before shutting softly behind her, and after the last sound of her footsteps was gone, Severus, for the first time in nearly 20 years, cried.

* * *

 _I'm not entirely pleased with how somethings in this chapter went. Nothing is known about Audrey. So I gave her a last name and made up a job, that to be honest, the Ministry kind of needs. The argument also didn't go as planned. I had a review on Deseo that I needed to do more research into the UK, which I did when searching for their date. So, bam. Hope you enjoyed, and I tried to edit, but feel free to tell me if there were any mistakes._


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,882**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 46,725**_

 _ **~Enjoy**_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

"I'm so sorry." Hermione told Meissa and Rodolphus as she sat across their table for dinner.

"No need to apologize-."

Rodolphus put his hand on his wife's arm. "I believe I should be the one apologizing to you my daughter."

Her brow crinkled. "Why would you be apologizing to me?"

"Because I've been egging Severus on." He held his hand up to stop what she was about to say. "I know I've not been making things easier, that's why I need to apologize."

She looked down. "You may not have been making things any easier, but we've not been getting along very well since we found out that you're my father. Mostly little arguments, but.. I've been sleeping in a separate room for two weeks now." She teared up, and furiously wiped at her eye. "I miss him so much."

"Severus is a good man. I haven't been willing to see it until recently, but he is a good man. I'm sure that the two of you will get through this. He's never been one to back out of a challenge." Rodolphus didn't tell her that he was meeting with Severus for lunch the next day.

* * *

 _Dearest Draco,_

 _Relationships and romance, have never been my strong suit. Being with you has made me the happies-_ Ron crumpled up the piece of parchment paper and threw it in his rubbish bin that sat next to the desk. Looking around his room, he stood and went into the living room. The last two weeks had been shit. Nearly everything had snowballed after the dinner at which Percy proposed. He'd barely seen Draco, at the trios meeting the previous night Hermione cried on both Harry's and his own shoulder since she and Severus weren't talking yet. Fred nearly died when an experiment exploded. The only good thing seemed to be that his mother was bustling with wedding preparations, as he'd had multiple letters about how she was helping Audrey and her mother plan it.

Everything had changed so much in the last seven months. They'd found out Hermione and Severus were expecting a baby. Harry and Ginny got married, and lost a baby of their own. He'd truly _met_ the man he'd come to love. As much as he thought he knew who Malfoy was throughout school, it's liked he'd been seeing someone else. There was so much negativity throughout the years since they'd started school… waking up and finding Draco in his bed that first morning… it was like a breath of fresh air after spending an insurmountable length of time drowning in water. Draco was nothing like the Malfoy he'd thought he'd known… _'and I might lose him.'_ Ron thought as he ran his hand through his hair, before storming over to his fireplace. "MALFOY MANOR!" He cried, throwing the floo powder into the flames.

He arrived in a sitting room where Narcissa and Lucius were having tea. Lucius sipped his tea silently as Narcissa sat her cup down and pierced him with a cold look. "May we help you?" She asked with a chill to her voice.

"I need to see him." He replied, glancing around as if expecting Draco to appear.

"And if I said he doesn't want to see you?" Lucius took another sip from his cup, trying to hide the smile. His son had been a pain to be around recently, moping about as if someone had broken his broom. From what he'd heard, Ronald was one of the denser of Weasleys, and it seemed as if he'd finally pulled his head from his arse.

"Please, I just want to talk to him, even if I'm just speaking through a door, I need to explain myself." He pleaded.

Narcissa raised a single eyebrow before snapping her fingers to summon a house elf. "Pipsy will show you the way." She told him before leaning forward to pick up her glass and turning away from him. When both man and elf were gone by the time she'd glanced up she sent her husband an amused look, who released the chuckle he'd been holding back. "Something funny darling?"

"I was wondering which of the two would break first." He replied simply, before picking up the paper and drinking languidly as he read. She picked up a book as Pipsy popped back to their side.

"Will Master and Mistress be needing anything else?"

"That will be all for the moment." She replied as across the manor Ron raised a hand and hesitantly knocked on the heavy door.

"Draco." He called, listening for any sound from inside.

"What do you want?" Draco's voice called out.

"I just want to make things right."

"How do you expect to do that? Did your parents join you?"

"No.. they didn't."

"Then leave." Draco responded harshly, and Ron heard a soft thump as if Draco was sitting against the door and had bumped his head against it. Ron sank to the floor and leaned against the wall beside the door.

"I can't, not until you know what you've done to me."

"What I've done to you?" Indignation lacing his words. "What have I done to you?"

"I thought I'd been doing fine before we got together, working in the shop, having the flat above it. No one to answer to. It's like I was blind to the downward spiral that I'd been in. Most of my money was going to the pub where I was trying to drown myself in alcohol to get past everything since the Ministry passed that bloody law." Ron looked at his hands. "Waking up in bed, and finding you beside me was the catalyst to what must have led me to insanity, because after these months together, I can't imagine a life where you and I aren't together. You've driven me crazy you ponce." He heard the door open, but didn't dare look up, afraid of the expression on Draco's face. "You've changed me, you've made me happy, and I've been terrified that once my family finds out, that they'll try to take me away from you."

* * *

Severus sat at the table in the café in muggle London, spinning a spoon around on the tablecloth. He'd been debating whether or not he wanted to leave before Rodolphus got there, but every time he thought about getting up he remembered that he'd be going home to his empty chambers. The chair across from him pulled out as Rodolphus arrived. "Thank you for meeting with me Severus."

"Don't thank me." He muttered, stopping the spoon. "You and I both know that the only reason I'm here is because I want to fix my marriage."

"I know. Hermione was over last night. She misses you very much. She told us about the separate rooms." Rodolphus prompted.

"It's been hell. I thought being in the Dark Lords service was bad, but this is terrible. I barely see her anymore."

"Why don't you go to her, beg her to take you back."

Severus frowned. "I do not beg."

Rodolphus gave him a small smile, "it may be a good time to start."

Severus leaned against the back of his chair as the waiter came up. "One of things that I've realized recently is that this is all new to you as well." He said after they gave their orders.

"How do you mean?"

"Regaining.. yourself, and finding out that you've got an adult daughter. Not only that, but that your adult daughter is THE Hermione Granger."

"That's a bit of a story." He replied, and at Severus's nod he began. "Since Meissa was in the muggle world I'd given her a charmed book where we could write to each other, so she didn't get caught for owls flying to and from her house, and I didn't get caught by Bellatrix sending love letters to another woman."

Severus's lips quirked. "So you let her think that you had a diary?"

"A journal." He corrected, "more manly." They both chuckled a little bit before Severus motioned him to continue. "I was presumed dead, so there wasn't anybody looking for me, but I knew I wanted to avoid the magical world. After a year I made my way to Gringotts to get into my private vault, and found my Journal. I saw the last letter she'd written me, telling me she was pregnant, and knew I had to find her. I'd already missed out on so much of my child's life.

 _ **Flashback~**_ _"Their name was Granger. They lived somewhere in London, I have the address written down somewhere."_

 _But when Rodolphus had heard the name, his heart froze. "What did you say the name was?"_

" _Granger."_

 _Surely Granger was a common enough name.. their daughter couldn't possibly be… "What did you name our daughter?"_

" _Hermione.. She would be Hermione Granger now."_ _ **~FlashbackEnd**_

"I was very shocked. The things that my wife.. the things that I'd done… I didn't know how Hermione could ever forgive me."

Severus felt a little bad for him, so he spoke up. "She's wanted to meet her birth parents since she was old enough to realize she was in an orphanage. Even after she was adopted, she felt like meeting you two would help her find out who she is." He paused, "she probably wouldn't want me to tell you this, but she was angry for a long time. Thinking that she hadn't been wanted, and that's why she was taken to the orphanage. The orphanage hadn't been given many details when she was brought there, and were never given any updates on Meissa's condition. Hermione was never given any of the few details the orphanage had, because the matrons thought that she was too young to understand that her mother very well may have died."

Rodolphus seemed to drift away for a moment, contemplating what Severus had just told him. "I was in Azkaban throughout it, or I'd have made sure I was with her."

"What would you have done about the coma?" Severus asked, genuine curiosity brimming to the surface.

As he sat back in his chair to think about it the waiter brought their food over. "Hmm. If I am being completely honest.. I think I'd have gone to you. You've never been close to Bellatrix, so I wouldn't have worried about her. But I know as part of your Mastery you had to apprentice with a healer."

Severus was shocked at what he was saying. "How did you know?"

"Come Severus, despite the fact that the.. organization we were in was a big part of the war effort, dealing with espionage and secrecy. But you were one of the youngest, you were going places, and we all knew it. The point is that I know with your training that you would be the most likely to be able to help, also the most discrete."

* * *

"Madam Pomfrey!" Darren Parkinson cried as he ran into the Hospital Wing.

"What is it Mr. Parkinson?"

"Professor Snape passed out in the middle of our DADA class! Hurry, we need help." He yelled before he ran back out. Poppy quickly set about summoning her go bag, before she floo'd to the office that was above the classroom. She quickly walked down the steps and came upon the fallen woman.

"How long ago did it happen?" She questioned, checking whether Hermione was breathing, sighing in relief when she found out she was.

"Five minutes maybe?" Chantel Palmer replied.

Darren came back fighting to catch his breath. "Good, you're here."

"Who knows how to use a floo?"

"I do ma'am!" Darren said, stepping forward.

"Floo St. Mungo's and tell them that I'm coming with a pregnant woman."

"Why don't you just take her through the floo in the office Madam Pomfrey?"

"The only one in the school designed for injured patients is the one in the Hospital Wing." She replied, standing up and casting a spell that created a stretcher under Hermione and levitating it up off of the ground. "Everyone else, class is dismissed."

* * *

Severus had only just arrived back in his rooms when there was a loud pounding on the door. "What is it?" He called as he approached, opening it to find Minerva standing on the other side.

"You need to go to St. Mungos."

"Why?"

"Hermione collapsed in cla-." Severus moved back into the floo and was gone in a flash of green.

He arrived in the main lobby of the hospital, and strode up to the desk. "I need to know where my wife is."

The receptionist, without looking up, asked "and who is your wife?"

"Hermione Snape."

She looked up at him. "Oh, Professor Snape, I'm so sorry, your wife is on floor three."

He was running up the stairs, worrying about what could have happened. "Please dear merlin let them both be alive." He muttered to himself.

* * *

There was a swift knock on the Lestrange door, and Rodolphus opened it to find Harry Potter standing on the other side. "You need to come to St. Mungos, Hermione collapsed and is in the hospital."

There was a light crash behind him, and he turned to see Meissa standing with her hands covering her mouth, broken glass spread about the floor. "Did you tell Jean and Richard?"

"Not yet."

"Go to the Hospital, we'll pick them up on the way." Harry nodded to them, before turning on the spot and apparating away.

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes with a groan. "What happened?" She asked, not checking to see if he was there, she could feel his presence.

"You collapsed during class. The doctors said you hadn't eaten."

She turned to look at him and saw him sitting in the chair beside the bed. "I haven't had much of an appetite recently."

"Your father and I had lunch yesterday. I had just come back when Minerva told me about you being here."

"Really?" She asked, shocked.

"Yes. I know that I've been difficult since we found out about him, and that I'm the reason you have been so stressed out. He's been out in the waiting room since yesterday. I'm trying to make things work. I'm-."

"Thank you." She replied, when a medi-witch came in.

"Glad to see you awake Mrs. Snape."

"How long was I out?"

"Just about twenty-four hours. When you arrived, we placed you under a potion induced sleep while we ran tests, and chopped you full of nutrient potions. Now about your prenatal potions, were you informed that you have to take those with food?"

"Yes."

"We already know the answer to this, but its important that you say this out loud."

"Okay."

"How long has it been since you've eaten?"

Hermione thought over the fact that it's been two days now since she'd had dinner with her parents. "Two days?" At the look on Severus's face she felt she had to elaborate. "I had a little bit of dinner with my parents the night before I collapsed. I'd had mild indigestion that day, so I hadn't felt much like eating."

Severus opened his mouth to ask why she hadn't come to him when he remembered they weren't living together any more. "We can give you something to take care of your indigestion, that doesn't cause any harm to either you or your son. Mr. Snape, I'm sure you'd like the recipe so that you can brew it yourself." Her statement fell on deaf ears, as the two reeled over the news that they were having a boy.

Severus looked to his wife, grabbing her hand. "We're having a son." Hermione gave him a teary smile as the medi-witch picked up her chart.

"As long as you're able to eat today, we should be able to send you home tonight." She looked at them. "Now there are a lot of people out in the waiting room waiting to see you, would you like me to send them in?"

"Yes." Hermione responded, waiting for her to leave the room. "I'm sorry that I move-."

"We do need to talk about that, but not right now. We can talk about it when we get home. Right now let's concentrate on getting you fed and calming down the worried group of people who are on their way in here now."

Meissa was the first in the door, "oh baby, I was so worried." Jean was right behind her, their husbands following behind with fond smiles on their faces as they looked at their wives. "When they told us that you were in a coma I was so terrified."

"It's okay, we're okay. Sev said you guys have been here all night."

Meissa smiled. "Your father was, but I actually went home to sleep last night, after you left for dinner I stayed up fairly late reading a new manuscript."

Hermione sighed, "I would love to get paid for critiquing books."

"I'm sure you would." Harry said from the doorway, standing there with Ginny and Ron. "You spent almost as much time in the library as the books did during our school years." Then they were all laughing, causing Hermione to look up at Severus and squeeze his hand.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You insufferable know it all."

"I love you my dungeon bat."

* * *

 _So sorry it took so long. The first scene I wrote for this chapter was where she collapsed in class. And then the scene with Ron and Draco, and don't worry I have something planned for their grand reveal (though you all may hate me for it). But all in all those two smidgeons needed other content to tie it together as a chapter. It's a little bit shorter than the last, but still about 800 more words than my normal average. I hope you liked it._


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 3,094**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 49,819**_

 _ **~Enjoy**_

 _ **~Please see Authors note at the end**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Three**

Ron was standing at the counter in a jovial mood. This Sunday he planned to invite his parents over for dinner, where they would be meeting Draco, as his boyfriend. He placed the current customers items in their bag and gestured the next ones forward, saying a quick thanks. "Hello, welcome to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, did you find everything okay?"

"Oh yes, thank you. Do you gents still carry the shield hats?" One of ladies asked him.

"Yes, we do. Their popularity has slightly declined since the end of the war, but the owners felt that they should keep them around just in case." He gestured to the back room. "Would you like me to grab some for you ladies?"

"If you could.." she paused, "my husband will think I'm silly for worrying when I tell him, but I prefer to err on the side of caution."

Ron pointed his wand at the back room and accio'd a few of the hats. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened that makes you worried?"

"Do you remember the reports that were in the papers about the assumed dead Death Eaters?" She asked, and Ron nodded his head. Hermione's father had been one of them.

"Yes, I know a few Aurors who spent a lot of time searching for them as a precaution."

"Well, I remember seeing a name of someone on there that I saw coming out of the entrance to Knockturn Alley as we entered here. He was walking with a woman whose face was covered with a hooded cloak."

"Do you need me to alert the Aurors?" Ron asked, they had a stone under the desk that if magic was directed to it would emit a distress signal at the ministry.

"No, they're probably long gone by now. But as adept with a wand I am, I want the hats for myself and my friends in case they did linger around the alley."

"Who do you think it was?" He asked, sending a short burst of magic towards the stone, even if it turned out to be nothing, he still needed to report any potential scrupulous characters.

"Oh, I don't think, I know. It was-"

* * *

The trio sat in the Room of Requirement. Harry and Hermione listening avidly to the story. "She said she was absolutely certain that the man was Travers, but she didn't get a glimpse of the woman's face due to the cloak she was wearing."

"They are getting bold. What with the muggles disappearing and winding up dead, with Bellatrix's magical signature all over them. If only the majority of the ministry would pull their heads out of their asses and realize that this situation needs to be taken care of. They refuse to believe that Bellatrix could be back, what with her very public death." Harry told them, pulling some parchment out of his bag. "I got letters from Kingsley this morning that he's been advised by the minister to make sure the public do not find out about this horcrux business. Which means we're basically on our own."

Hermione looked grim. "I think we should warn the family on Saturday. When Bellatrix and Travers finally make a move, it'll be too big for just the three of us to handle."

"Especially because if Severus has his way, you'll be on bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy."

She snorted, "If Severus had his way I wouldn't even be able to walk the halls to get some exercise."

"And poor Mr. Parkinson would have to find another lady to woo." Harry joked. "He asks about you every class, seems afraid that Severus has hurt you."

"My first class with him he called me a book worm, it's astounding to see how much he's changed. I've told him that Severus wouldn't hurt me, but with how he acts in Potions, I can see where he'd get that misconception. He even gave me an emergency portkey to his parents' house." After the three finished their conversations, they all stood to leave, Ron going ahead, and Harry walking with Hermione.

"So when are you moving back in with him?"

"I've had a house elf move my knick-knacks and photographs back, I'm just waiting on him to ask me to come back again."

"I had assumed he'd drag you back as soon as you returned from the hospital last week."

"I told him I wasn't quite ready to move back in yet…" they were about two corridors away from her quarters when she spoke again. "Whether he asks or not, it'll probably be tomorrow or Wednesday, I want to be settled back in before dinner on Saturday."

When they turned the corridor towards her rooms, she stopped when she saw Severus standing at her door. "I'll see you later Hermione." Harry told her, turning around to head towards the DADA office so that he could floo home.

"Hi Sev."

"I was hoping that I could show you something that I've done." He replied, holding his hand out for her. She held his hand, and walked with him down to the dungeons.

"Have you thought of any names you'd like?" She asked him.

"After discovering about your parents, I know that there are certain traditions that they followed." He started. "The Blacks use astronomy for their names. Orion. Sirius. Walburga. I was wondering if you' be willing to give them an astrological name."

"Did you have any in mind?"

"I wanted to know what you think of the name Caelum."

"I like it, and I'm touched that you'd be willing to do a Black family tradition with our family." She paused for a moment, "I was actually thinking that since you have the name of an Emperor, that we could do the same for our son, start our own tradition."

"What are you thinking of?"

"Well, I think Caelum Aurelius Snape has a nice ring to it. After Marcus Aurelius."

He opened the door to what had been their joint chambers. "Caelum Aurelius Snape." He murmured, "I do think that I like that."

Severus led her over to a new door, one that hadn't been there when she left. "What is this?"

Opening the door, and turning on the lights, Severus led her in to the nursery. "Our Sons nursery." The walls were painted like a mountain range, including a dragon, and some giants off in the distance. The ceiling was a navy blue with golden stars blinking ever so often. The crib, changing table, and dresser were all a dark cherry wood.

"It's lovely. Where did you come up with all of this?"

"Well I asked Narcissa who they'd gotten to paint Draco's room as a child as his was quite magnificent. The ceiling we can charm when he gets older to look like the night sky."

"Severus?" She asked, rubbing her now bulbous stomach.

"Yes darling?"

"Would you mind terribly if I moved back in?"

"I wouldn't mind at all."

* * *

Bellatrix was looking around the warehouse, smirking. "It's finally ready Travers."

"Yes it is my lady."

"We shall move up our plans." The smirk turned into a snarl. "Let us go find a few muggles to torture."

* * *

Ron sat down at the Burrow table for dinner. It was just him and his parents. "Thanks for letting me come over for dinner."

"Oh Ronald, all of you children know that you are always welcome here. It's gotten so quiet now that all of you have moved out. We've even signed up to be put on the list of couples willing to adopt the children Audrey was talking about."

"The muggleborns?"

"Yes. Even if we're not chosen, we'll at least have grandchildren running around soon."

"True, Victoire is crawling now, and Hermione is less than a month away from her due date."

"I have a request for the both of you." Ron told them, setting down his fork.

"What is it?" Arthur asked his youngest son.

"I was wondering if you two would like to come over for lunch on Sunday to meet my boyfriend."

"We would be delighted."

"After some thinking, I realized that part of my procrastination has been built up because I'd assumed everybody would have to meet him at once. But I decided, I'd start off with telling the two of you, and then maybe having him over at the next family meal."

"That sounds wonderful dear. We can't wait to meet him."

"I'm glad. He's been rather disgruntled with me not having introduced you yet. Thinks I'm ashamed of him."

"Does he have a big family?" Arthur asked.

"No, it's just him, his mum, and his dad."

That night, after Ron had went home, as Arthur and Molly were laying in bed, they took turns guessing who their sons mystery boyfriend was. "There were only a few death eaters who didn't get put into Azkaban, or killed at the Final Battle."

"How many of them were exonerated?" Molly asked her husband.

"Malfoy are the only ones I can really recall, and that was just because of Harry really. Because Lucius had lowered the anti-apparition wards when the kids were stuck at Malfoy Manor, and Narcissa lied to Voldemort about Harry being dead in the forest. Also Harry mentioned that Draco had been told to try and kill Albus, otherwise his parents would be murdered."

"Do you think that it's Draco?"

Arthur contemplated this. "It certainly would make a lot of sense as to why he's been so reluctant to bring him over. They've been seeing each other since before Harry and Ginny got married. The comments that he's made to us about knowing his parents…" He paused, thinking over all that had been mentioned about Ron's boyfriend. "Maybe I should write to Lucius, and ask to speak with him about resolving the quarrel between our families."

"If you do so, I wouldn't mention it to Ron." They drifted off to sleep as the only sound in their home was the soft clanking of the ghoul in the attic, several floors above their heads. The wind was blowing outside of the Burrow, making the leaves flutter on the trees. Over in London, a masked man and woman were abducting muggles who were walking about the street. Making sure that they had enough for their plans.

* * *

Hermione woke up on Saturday morning with an arm across her waist. She could feel Severus pressed against her back, and lay there basking in his warmth. He awoke gradually, and groaned, nuzzling his face into her hair. "Good morning my love." He murmured.

"Good morning. It's so nice waking up to you every morning again. I can't believe that I stayed away for so long."

"We are both very stubborn individuals. I imagine that Caelum will be worse than the both of us combined."

Hermione felt her lips twist into a grin. "I can't wait until we're holding our son in our arms."

"Neither can I, what do you say we go out to have breakfast in that muggle place you like, and then pick something up in Diagon Alley that we can take to dinner?" He asked, before pressing a soft kiss against her neck.

Her mouth was salivating just thinking about it. Her and her parents hadn't gone very often after she started school. But after she'd been adopted, she'd loved going to that particular place because it had their last name. An hour later she was finishing off her 'Fresh Aussie', and taking the last few sips of her Iced Lemon Myrtle Tea. Glancing up she saw Severus watching her with a look of amusement on his face. "What?" She asked after she swallowed her last bit of salmon.

"Nothing darling, I'm just glad to see you've gotten your appetite back." Their server came back over with their check. He pulled a wallet out of his pocket and laid a fifty pound note inside the little tray that held the receipt. "Please keep the change."

"Much appreciated sir."

Being in King's Cross it was nearly an hour walk to the Leaky Cauldron. As they made their way outside, Severus turned to his very much pregnant wife and asked softly, "shall we walk or do you want to ride the bus?"

"Let's walk. I need some exercise, I've been feeling cooped up since I don't want to go out much now that I'm getting so big."

Grabbing her hand they set off. "That just means that our child is growing."

"That's all well and good but I wish he would stay off of my bladder so that I don't feel as if I need the loo every 10 minutes."

* * *

Lucius sat in his office at the Manor, and pulled out the letter he'd received earlier that week, and read it over again.

 _Lucius,_

 _I know that our families have not gotten along, but after some thinking, I believe that our families have a very strong reason to, as the muggles say, bury the hatchet. Ronald has mentioned to us that he has met with his boyfriends parents, that they were cleared of all Death Eater activity, and that our families have been less than amicable towards each other. Which leads Molly and I to believe that our son has been seeing your son Draco for quite some time._

 _If our assumptions are incorrect, then please ignore this. If they are however, please do not mention anything to Draco, or Ronald, if you see them before Sunday. Ronald has invited us to lunch to meet his boyfriend, and while we are amused at his reluctance to tell us, we don't want him to be discouraged if he realizes that we know. If it is indeed your son, you have no reason to worry, after everything that your family has done to repair damages that were done during the war in the name of Voldemort, we wish no ill will upon you or your family._

 _Arthur Weasley_

Narcissa walked in as he began to chuckle. "What is it dear?"

"Ronald still hasn't told his family that he's dating our Draco, and his parent's have figured it out."

"Are you going to tell Draco?" She asked, after reading the letter for herself.

"No, I think after all the trouble Draco has caused over the years, that we should leave him to mellow in his worry of being rejected by Ronalds parents."

"You don't believe that you're being too harsh?" She asked skeptically.

"If they don't have lunch and meet tomorrow, then I'll tell him. But I doubt one more day will do any psychological harm to him."

"Okay, one more day, and then we'll show them the letter."

* * *

"Are you ready" She muttered to him, anxiously watching the alley, pulling her hood up more. Their plan would be ruined if she were revealed too soon, and people kept glancing sideways at her as they walked by.

Travers turned to her. "Yes. I'll go move towards Flourish & Blotts, and signal you when she comes out, or if I see her. Severus is sure to approach the Apothecary, and since she is so far along with her pregnancy, she won't go in due to the various fumes from certain ingredients and potions the owner may be brewing."

Bellatrix held the coin tight in her hand. "Do not let me down, and I will reward you with anything you could possibly want."

"Yes My Lady."

* * *

"Professors Snape!" Tom the barkeeper said to them in greeting as they walked in through the front door of The Leaky Cauldron. "Wow Mrs., you look like you're due any day now."

"Hello Tom." Severus replied.

"Yes, we're less than a month away."

"How are you teaching classes?" He asked in genuine curiosity.

"I haven't been actively teaching the classes, though I have been helping grade the papers. I had to stop teaching the advanced classes around the middle of the second trimester, and two weeks ago I had to stop actively teaching all of my classes."

He gave her a soft smile. "It's good that you're able to still help out. My wife had been put on bedrest for the last three months of her pregnancy with our last because she was such high risk, and wasn't happy about having virtually nothing to do."

"Was she okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, we just had our last child fairly late so the healers were on high alert." Hermione gave a sigh of relief, having realized how upsetting her question would have been had Toms wife not survived.

"I'm glad," she told him, and when a new patron walked up, "we'll let you get back to your other customers. Have a good day Tom."

"The two of you as well," he replied, before turning to the other person.

Hermione and Severus made their way into the back room that led to the alley, and before the door was all of the way shut Severus was tapping on the bricks that allowed them entrance. Their first stop was Gringotts, where they got out money for their shopping. As they made their way down the pristine steps, Hermione thought that she saw a flash of a familiar face at the entrance of the alley. "Can we go to Flourish and Blotts first?" She asked, brushing off the trepidation that rose within her at seeing that tiny glimpse. Surely Bellatrix would not be stupid enough to be in the alley. When they were leaving the book store, Hermione caught another glimpse of someone. But this time she couldn't brush off her uneasy feelings. Not after everything the trio had learned.

"Do you mind if I step into the Apothecary darling?" Severus asked her, raising a brow at her facial expression.

"Of course not, but please try to be quick, I think it's time to talk to you about what Harry, Ron, and I have been meeting about."

Intrigued, Severus gave her a kiss before moving towards the entrance of the Apothecary. Moving quickly, he ordered the potions ingredients he needed, and asked to have them delivered to Hogwarts. Just as he exited the door, he heard something that he'd have put money on never hearing again. A cackle that could only have been made by someone who hundreds of people had seen killed at the final battle. He turned towards where he'd left Hermione, only to see her standing with a knife against her throat, Bellatrix Lestrange behind her. "Hello Severus," Bellatrix said, before turning on the spot and taking his wife with her.

* * *

 _ **I want to begin by saying I'm sorry that this chapter has been so delayed. I'd like to tell you that the next update will be quick, but I can't promise that. In April, I moved in with my boyfriend because I could no longer afford the apartment I had. We went on vacation in Florida, and then Gatlinburg for a week in May. Things at my job were deteriorating. Two weeks ago(nearly three now), Thursday I was written up for confirming a policy outside of my department, which was supposedly, insubordinate. That Friday morning I got a call telling me I was being suspended pending an investigation. And the next Monday I got another call telling me that they'd decided to proceed with my termination. These last two weeks I've been running my butt off putting in applications, and trying to find another job so that my boyfriend didn't get stuck with all of the bills.**_

 _ **Despite the fact that I'd been unhappy with my job, I've never been fired. I was… stunned, and depressed. Despite the fact that I spent 90% of the last two weeks at home, I couldn't write. I couldn't do much housework. I hate feeling like what I'm doing isn't good enough, like I've not put my best effort forward. I was thankfully, after being unemployed for two weeks, able to start a job yesterday. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I've had a rough year so far, so I'm hoping to help my readers understand.**_

 _ **Now, onto the story information. The next couple of chapters will have a lot of angst in them. There will be triggers, from traumatic experiences. Though the poll I put up didn't get a lot of feedback about what you guys would like to see while Bellatrix has Hermione, I do have quite a few plans. The setbacks I am telling you about now, is that I'm not the kind of person who likes to write torture. If you attempted to read my PSYCH fanfic Green Lightning, I took it down due to multiple writing inconsistencies I had made, and because I didn't want to write torture. Unlike this story though, that was a story that I wasn't invested in. I will write what I have to for this story. I will do my best to have it up as soon as I can. But the new job I have, will have a lot of overtime, so I don't know how much I'll be able to write. Hopefully the long wait hasn't lost me any of my readers. I hope this chapter was worth it.**_

 _ **Anje**_


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters (besides Healer Kaylee my recurring OC), places, or items are the work of the wonderful and fabulous JK Rowling. Any of the text that is bold or italicized when Hermione is teaching a class is directly copied from Harry Potter Wikia.**_

 _ **This chapter is unbeta-d, so forgive my mistakes.**_

 _ **Pairings: Hermione/Severus, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Draco, Neville/Luna**_

 _ **OC's: See profile**_

 _ **Chapter Word Count: 2,434**_

 _ **Story Word Count: 52,253**_

 _ **~Enjoy**_

 **WARNING: CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL READERS. (THIS IS BELLATRIX LESTRANGE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT)**

 **Chapter Twenty-Four**

 **DAY ONE - SATURDAY**

Harry exited the floo into the Burrows living room and turned around to catch Ginny as she came through. Normally Ginny was fairly sturdy while using magical means of travel, having grown up around it, but they had a secret that was throwing her balance and equilibrium out of funk. "Oh, Harry and Ginny are here!" Percy called, peeking his head into the living room to see who'd come through the floo. "Come on guys, we can't hold Ron back from the food any longer."

"Are we the last ones?" Ginny asked.

"No, Hermione and Severus still haven't arrived." Percy replied, leaving them to follow him into the kitchen. Just as Harry pushed Ginny's chair in for her, Severus came in through the door. The dour man ignored the greetings and zeroed in on Harry.

"You!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Me?"

"You will tell me what you and Weasley have been meeting my wife about for all of these months right now."

"Where's Hermione at Severus?" Molly asked, "we thought you were coming together."

Severus held his hand up to silence Molly as he approached Harry. He lowered his hand to grab onto Harrys shirt. "Tell me what you've been meeting my wife about now!" Severus demanded.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked, "and you realize that this could be considered as an assault on an Auror?"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT OR WHO YOU ARE!" Severus boomed in his face, "YOU WILL TELL ME THIS INSTANT WHY MY PREGNANT WIFE WAS JUST ABDUCTED BY BELLATRIX LESTRANGE IN THE MIDDLE OF DIAGON ALLEY!"

"Bellatrx is dead Severus," Arthur started to say through the deafening silence, "Molly kill-."

"Potter knows what I'm talking about." Severus growled, shaking Harry. "Tell me what you know damn it."

"Severus, that is enough!" Arthur said, standing up. "It had to have been someone using poly-."

"It's true." Harry and Ron replied at the same time.

"What?" Ginny said.

"Bellatrix Lestrange made a Horcrux to please Voldemort. That's how that little boy died while drawing in a journal." Ginny paled. "That's how Voldemort came back. We broke into Gringotts to get the one he'd given to Bellatrix for safe keeping. The attack at the ministry with the toxic fumes was done by her and an accomplice. The accomplice is an estranged family member of the little boy, Frank Travers."

"That's what you three have been hiding?" Ginny said, standing up, and slapping Harry across the face. Severus took a step back so he didn't get hit by the fiery redhead. He'd spent enough time around Lily growing up that he knew once the hand swung, anybody within distance could be hit. "You told me it was nothing to worry about. How long have you three known about her being alive again? How could you not tell me after what happened in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"It's because of what happened in the Chamber that I didn't tell you."

Molly stood up. "You're telling me that the incident in my daughters first year was due to Voldemort having horcruxes? Why were we not told?"

"Dumbledore didn't want it to get out that he'd made horcruxes. He didn't want even a rumor to get to the faithful death eaters that their lord wasn't dead." Severus said. "I told him that he should have told you that way you could ensure Ginny got the proper care, but he refused to speak a word." Severus answered, knowing Potter wouldn't know the answer.

"If you knew why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't know until Ginny's third year. And would you have believed me if I had known and told you?"

Ron stood up, stopping his parents from whatever denial they had been about to make. "We're getting off track here. Hermione was abducted?"

"Yes." Severus choked out.

"The minister and Kingsley have instructed me to do what I can, but that we can't allow this knowledge to get out to the general public. The day she moved back in with you we decided we were going to let the family know today. Because the people in this room are the only ones I can trust with information." Harry said.

Severus slumped into an unoccupied chair. "You should have told me earlier, I should not have been kept from this."

"It was Hermione's choice. None of this happened until after she found out the two of you are expecting a child. She didn't want to tell you because she was worried that you would stop her from helping."

"Damn right I would have! Especially now with her being so advanced in the pregnancy."

* * *

 _Drip… drip… drip…_ Consciousness returned to Hermione slowly and with it, the realization that she was tied to a chair. She felt stiff, as if she'd been sitting in the same position for a while. Trying to move as little as possible, she tensed and loosened her muscles to see if she were injured in any way. Carefully she cracked her eyes opened and looked around. She was in a room big enough, and dark enough that she couldn't see the walls. The last thing she remembered was standing outside of the Apothecary as Severus went in to order a few potions ingredients. Someone had come up behind her and held a knife to her neck, and then…

"Well well well, is the filthy little mudblood finally awake?" A husky voice came from the shadows around her.

"In case you haven't read it in the paper I'm not a mudblood. Aunty." There was a swishing noise when suddenly the lights turned on, causing Hermione to close her eyes. She had to blink several times before she could take a look around. "Where am I?"

" _Crucio!"_ Bellatrix sneered, but quickly released the spell. "I don't recall permitting you to speak."

"I don't recall having to ask your permission." Hermione replied.

" _Crucio!"_ The crazed witch replied, holding the curse a few seconds longer. "You might not want to be quite so brazen with your tongue, wouldn't want you to go into labor. Might have to _cut_ the baby out of you."

Hermione leaned as far forward as she could with the ropes around her and gave Bellatrix a frosty glare. "I will not allow you to harm my child."

A figure stepped out of the shadows that caused Hermione's eyes to widen. "I believe you mean _our_ child."

"Severus?!"

* * *

 **DAY TWO - SUNDAY**

Harry walked quickly through the corridors towards the ministers office, Kingsley Shacklebolt walking slowly behind him. As soon as he arrived, he knocked several times, ignoring the secretary telling him he had to have an appointment. "What is this about Harry?"

"I can't speak about it until we're with the minister."

"Is this about you-." Kingsley started to ask but was interrupted by the opening of the door.

"Aurors Potter and Shacklebolt, why don't you come in." Minister Jergens said, motioning the two of them into his office.

As soon as the door was closed and the wards were up Harry started speaking. "Bellatrix has finally made her move, Hermione was abducted in Diagon Alley." Kingsley dropped the glass of whiskey Patrick had given him.

"What?"

"The papers think that it was a look-a-like thanks to the link we have in the Prophet."

"You know the position that I'm in, I can't allow the public to know that Bellatrix Lestrange is back. If I alert the Aurors you, as well as I, know that it will get leaked."

Harry slammed his hands on the minister's desk. "This isn't just planning anymore. Hermione has been abducted, and she only has a month left on her pregnancy."

Kingsley put a hand on his arm and pulled him back. "Both Auror Potter and I are going to need to take emergency leave until Mrs. Snape is returned."

The minister pulled a folder out of his top drawer, opened it, and stamped on the two pages inside. "I've had the paperwork prepared for the two of you to take leave since the attack and the realization of what's going on."

"You know that Severus Snape was a spy, and will likely fight back in kind should Bellatrix attempt to use any dark curses on his wife." Harry pointed out.

"I trust the two of you will be able to keep this under wraps, even so, you know how to erase everything that shows up under priori incantantem." Kingsley nodded, and began to pull Harry towards the door.

"We'll keep you updated."

* * *

"Darling, I can't pretend to be in love with you anymore."

"I know you're not Severus." Hermione replied to the impostor, positive that it was the same person who'd been polyjuiced the night before. Due to the Polyjuice the person was identical to her husband, but they held themselves differently, and didn't have the permanent odor of potions.

"Of course I'm your husband." He replied, reaching a hand forward and pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You don't smell of potions, nor are you wearing his wedding band."

The hand was pulled away from her face, before the intimidating figure slapped her hard. She pulled hard against the ropes around her wrists, but found it was futile. Bellatrix stepped back into her view, and swung her hand across her face too. "You stupid whore! You're ruining our fun!"

"What's your big plan here?" Hermione asked when the stinging in her face subsided some.

"Mudbloods don't get to ask questions." The person disguised as Severus sneered.

"I am not a mudblood." She stated firmly. "I am a pureblood. My father is Rodolphus Lestrange and my mother is Meissa Lestrange nee Black."

"Your mother was a husband stealing squib, she was blasted off of the family tree."

"The current Lord Black restored her into the family, since she clearly had enough magic in her blood to have a magical child. He also removed the sister who stole my mothers betrothed."

A look of shock passed Bellatrix's face before it quickly disappeared. "You're the reason all of this has happened. You helped that rotten half-blood and ginger blood traitor destroy my master. You.. you are the reason for all of the bad that's happened to our cause."

Hermione spat the blood out of her mouth at the witches shoes. "Your cause was doomed to fail as soon as you decided to follow a half-blooded bastard whose own parents didn't love him."

Bellatrix began to raise her wand when the man who was still under the effects of Polyjuice coughed. "We don't want to kill her too soon ma'am. You'd be upset if you couldn't have your fun." The eerie green light disappeared.

" _Crucio!"_ The witch sneered, though she released the spell quickly before turning on her heel and storming from the building, door slamming behind her. 'Severus' doused all but one of the lights with his wand, before turning and following his mistress out.

* * *

The Weasleys, Potters, Snape, and Kingsley were sitting around the table in the burrow when the floo flared to life in the other room. "Ginny will you go see who that is?" Molly asked before turning back to the plans they were making to search muggle London where there had been a string of murders that the Police hadn't been able to solve.

Ginny, who was beginning to feel slightly nauseous stood without a fight and barely made it to the door when someone she never expected to see in her childhood home stepped through the entryway. "Malfoy?"

Draco, however, moved past her and walked straight up to Ron. "I saw the papers. Are you alright? You haven't responded to my owls and when you weren't at your flat I started to get worried."

"Draco, why are-?" Whatever Ron had been about to say was cut off when Draco leaned down and kissed him in front of his entire family.

"Life is too short to hide when people are in love. I love you Ronald Weasley, and it's time your family knew. I'm rather fond of Granger and I want her found as much as you do, especially as she's married to my godfather."

Ron was in a daze for a moment before he remembered where they were, and who they were with. He turned to look at his parents, who had smiles on their faces. "Mum, dad.. I'd like you to meet my boyfriend.. Draco Malfoy."

Draco, who could see that everybody was stunned to silence at their admissions, and display, snapped them out of it. "So what are we doing to get her back?" He asked, giving his godfather a careful look. "My father told me I could assure you that if needed, the entirety of the Malfoy vaults can be used to aid in Hermione's recovery."

* * *

All of the light from the windows above her head was gone. From the distance, she heard a door open and a scuffling sound approaching. Bellatrix entered the light from the single orb above Hermione's chair dragging a struggling person who had a cloth bag over their head. "I brought you a treat you mudblood, since you didn't fall for my trick."

She dragged the person in front of her chair, and pulled the bag off of her head, causing her to yell. "MUM!"

Meissa had ropes around her ankles and her hands were tied behind her back. There was a strip of cloth tied around her head that kept her from speaking, though from the muffled yells Hermione could hear that she was trying. Bellatrix kicked her onto her stomach and yanked her head up by her hair. She looked Hermione into the eyes as she pulled her knife from seemingly nowhere. "I thought you'd like to watch the life leave her eyes." She said calmly, before slitting Meissa's throat from ear to ear.

"YOU MONSTER!" Hermione screamed as Bellatrix positioned her mothers head so that she was facing her daughter, before calmly walking away. "MUM!" Hermione cried out as she watched the spreading pool of blood coming from her birth mother, who was convulsing on the floor in front of her. As the sound of the door closing sounded Hermione started crying. "I'm so sorry that it took me so long to accept you. I'm so sorry you're going to die because of me when you're innocent in all of this." Hermione babbled through her tears until the convulsions stopped and she heard the gurgling sound end. She stared in shock as the now familiar eyes turned glassy, and a tear trailed down her face.


End file.
